Threats

US To Send More Troops to Iraq To Train Iraqi Forces

The current plan is to train 12 Iraqi Army brigades, but Pentagon officials say that could expand. By Gordon Lubold

Ideas

If Only America Cared About Actual Wars as Much as War Movies

America loves 'American Sniper,' but there are consequences when a nation is so disengaged with its own wars. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Threats

Even the Islamic State Needs a Bank

The Islamic State is hoping to establish its legitimacy by making its own money, budgets, and welfare system. By Adam Chandler

Business

Lockheed Contractor Must Repay $27.5M for Overcharging Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan

A Lockheed Martin contractor agrees to repay the government for overbilling for its products and services to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. By Charles S. Clark

Business

The Drop in Oil Prices Could Save the Pentagon Billions of Dollars

Lower oil prices could also hurt U.S. weapon sales to oil-rich Middle Eastern countries. By Marcus Weisgerber

Ideas

Is Obama’s ‘Iraq First’ Strategy Working Against ISIS?

The Obama administration believes it can tackle problems in Iraq first, then Syria, but will that make things better or worse down the road? By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon and Stephanie Gaskell

Threats

Islamic State Is On the ‘Defensive’ As a Coalition Builds in Iraq

The U.S. war commander in Iraq says ‘you don’t see a lot of movement” by ISIS these days, but you might see more international troops enter the fight soon. By Gordon Lubold

Threats

The Fight Against ISIS Is Creating Three Separate Armies in Iraq

Can Iraq hold itself together while Kurds, Sunnis and Shias fight separately against the Islamic State? By Steven A. Cook

Threats

Lebanon Says It Detained a Wife and Child of ISIL’s Leader

Security officials from Lebanon say they apprehended the two at the Lebanese-Syrian border 10 days ago. By Bobby Ghosh

Threats

Baghdad, Kurds Put Aside Differences To Secure Oil from Smugglers

Iraq finally closed a deal with the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to rout oil sales through Baghdad in exchange for finally funding the Peshmerga fighters. By Steve LeVine

Threats

The Search for the Plan To Destroy ISIS

In Syria, ISIS is offering a better deal than the U.S. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Policy

Military Suicides Decline, But Continued Failures Hold Lessons for Future Wars

To win the wars of tomorrow, we must understand the ways we are continuing to fail our troops today.

Threats

The Real Reason ISIS Takes Hostages and Beheads Them

From the outside, the group’s actions look insane. But the brutality is meant to provoke a wider war—a war that ISIS is convinced it will win. By Simon Cottee

Threats

What Obama Needs To Do To Beat ISIS

If the president is serious about dealing with the Islamic State, he will need to increase America's commitment in a measured way. By Max Boot

Policy

Pentagon and Hill Officials Say They’re Still in the Dark On Obama's New War Powers

When and how will a new authorization for the use of military force against ISIS get drafted? By Molly O’Toole

Threats

In the War Against ISIS, Iran Is Not – and Will Not Be – a Friend to the US

In the fight against the Islamic State, your enemy’s enemy is not automatically your friend. By Bobby Ghosh

Ideas

How Three Veterans Uncovered the Iraq War's Biggest Untold Story

Abandoned Iraqi chemical weapons wounded at least 600 U.S. soldiers. Telling their stories would be no easy feat. By Alex Horton

Threats

Destroying ISIS Goes Beyond Killing Its Leadership

A U.S.-led coalition has reportedly killed a top aide to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But getting rid of the terror group's leadership isn't going to be enough. By Matt Schiavenza

Threats

Obama Doubles Number of Troops for Iraq Mission to 3,000

The Obama administration is reevaluating the operation against ISIL in Iraq, where months of air strikes there and in neighboring Syria have seen little effect. By Stephanie Gaskell

Threats

Pentagon Counter-IED Group Heads to Iraq as Attacks Surge

The Joint IED Defeat Organization will deploy to Baghdad help stop roadside bomb attacks, but will have to rely on Iraqi soldiers to disable and destroy bombs. By Marcus Weisgerber