Middle East

To foster Middle East peace and prosperity, help Kurdistan fend off extremists

Two steps are urgently needed, says the regional government’s U.S. envoy.

  • Treefa Aziz

Ukraine is helping the US catch up with modern warfare—for now

Observers say broader cooperation could help both sides, if the Trump administration allows it.

  • Patrick Tucker

Hegseth broke rules, DODIG concludes, even though he said Yemen strike details were ‘safe to declassify’

Inspector general’s Signalgate report arrives two months after SecDef alleged the office had been “weaponized.”

  • Meghann Myers

The D Brief: Hegseth cites ‘fog of war’; USAF axes China-focused reforms; CENTCOM’s new attack-drone unit; Firms qualify for Golden Dome work; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The US needs more than troops at a Syrian airbase to constrain ISIS, Iran

Continued support for the SDF, plus more burden-sharing, is necessary to protect U.S. interests.

  • Thomas Bergeson and Jonah Brody

The D Brief: Commandant’s ARG/MEU push; Army acquisition reform; B-21, ICBM projects; ‘DoW’ price tag; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: Shutdown nears end; Allies limit intel-sharing over boat strikes; Price tag for US occupations; Marines want multiple prototypes; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: A narrower natsec focus; ‘Pigpen-like mess’ at DOD; DC Guard deployment extended; Shutdown sets record; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Thomas Novelly and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: Hurricane evacuation; B-1s off Venezuela; DOD civs fret amid shutdown; Plutonium for sale; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

Now is not the time for new US commitments to the Middle East

President Trump should follow his instincts and tell the Gulf states to take on more of their own security burden.

  • Will Walldorf

The D Brief: Gaza ceasefire; Chicago deployment on hold; Qataris in Idaho; AUSA news; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

US to build facility for Qatari F-15s in Idaho; details remain unclear

The project, which appears to flow from the terms of the jets' 2017 sale, drew criticism and questions.

  • Thomas Novelly
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Hamas has run out of options

The group's survival now rests on accepting Trump’s plan and political reform.

  • Mkhaimar Abusada, The Conversation

The D Brief: War on leaks; IGs, targeted; Guard-deployment sitrep; The next geoint hub?; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: Israel bombs Qatar, Syria, Gaza; Caribbean buildup; Marines’ JLTV choice; Headset head-to-head; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: SecDef’s guidance; Israel kills Yemeni PM; Venezuela’s defiance; China’s exoskeletons; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

The D Brief: AI for shipbuilding; Database of covert contractors?; Israel’s new airstrikes in Syria; State Department drops Ukraine analysts; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Audrey Decker

How to restart nuclear diplomacy with Iran

Tehran is weakened, but hardly neutralized.

  • Jesse Marks
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Middle East unrest drives conversation on US troop presence

Potential plans to reduce force size in Central Command areas and Europe are up in the air.

  • Meghann Myers

The D Brief: Trump joins Israel’s war; Results of Iran strikes unknown; World reacts; What happens next?; And a bit more.

  • Bradley Peniston and Ben Watson

Four scenarios for the Middle East, from a former IDF intel chief

The collapse of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Assad presented an “opportunity” for Israel to expand its war across the Middle East, Amos Yadlin said.

  • Patrick Tucker