The Pentagon is pulling out its old Afghanistan drawdown plans and reworking them for a Sept. 11 deadline, per President Joe Biden’s announcement of the end of Operation Resolute Support on Wednesday. The 2,500 troops deployed to that country may see some back-up arriving to help with removing equipment, shutting …
Read More »Turkey ‘neutralizes’ 9 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq
Air operation carried out in Metina region, says National Defense Ministry Turkish security forces “neutralized” nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, Turkey’s National Defense Ministry said on Monday. The terrorists were neutralized in an air operation in the Metina region, the ministry said on Twitter, also sharing footage of the …
Read More »Libya’s Expanding Proxy War May Be the Ultimate Test of NATO’s Resilience
With Egypt reportedly on the brink of invading neighboring Libya, and troops from Chad said to be on their way north to join Gen. Khalifa Haftar in his fight to topple the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, what was already a complicated proxy war could soon become Africa’s first full-on …
Read More »How Many Bridges Can Turkey’s Erdogan Burn?
Since his sweeping overhaul of Turkey’s political system in 2017, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cemented his near-total control over the country. Despite the worst electoral setback of Erdogan’s career in the Istanbul mayoral election in June 2019, as well as a tailspinning economy exacerbated by the fallout from the …
Read More »A Seven-Year Fuse Blows Up Czech-Russian Relations
It is hard to know what is most surprising about the fatal depot story: the timing, the scale of the Czech response, or the operation itself. It can be disconcerting to discover you have been at war for seven years. The Czech government’s announcement that Russia was behind an explosion …
Read More »Turkey’s Tightrope Between Russia and the United States
One question has been irking Turkish commentators since January: why won’t U.S. President Joe Biden speak to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan? All the key world leaders have had phone conversations with the new U.S. president—Russia’s Vladimir Putin included—but Turkey’s president has been given the cold shoulder. Erdoğan must …
Read More »Is Ukraine Ready for the Next Russian Invasion?
Though it is clear that Kiev cannot win in any scenario involving a solo defense against a Russian invasion, it can possibly prevent Moscow from achieving a blitzkrieg-style outcome through persistent military and civilian resistance. In recent weeks, the Kremlin executed the largest military build-up on the Russian-Ukrainian border since …
Read More »Russia Plans to Withdraw From ISS, Deploy Its Own National Space Station
Russia will exit the International Space Station (ISS) initiative in 2025 and will inform its international partners about that decision, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov told broadcaster Rossiya 1 on Sunday. According to the TV channel, the decision to withdraw was made during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin …
Read More »Egypt, Sudan to build port in border area
Egypt and Sudan agreed to set up a joint committee for the development of the port of Wadi Halfa in Sudan, as part of efforts to boost bilateral relations. At a meeting held in Khartoum April 12, and chaired by Sudan’s Minister of Transport Mirghani Mousa, Egypt’s Minister of Transport …
Read More »EU To Meet Over Alleged Russian Links To 2014 Czech Depot Blast, As Russia Warns Of Retaliation
The Czech Republic says it has informed NATO and the European Union about Russia’s alleged involvement in a deadly ammunition depot explosion in 2014, an accusation Russia called “absurd” and a sign of Washington’s influence on Prague. Prague expelled 18 Russian diplomats on April 17, accusing them of being spies …
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