Left: Two insurgents in Iraq with SA-7b and SA-14 MANPADS. Courtesy of U.S. Department of Homeland Security What crashed the Russian Airbus A321 in the Sinai Peninsula is yet to be determined. The British Telegraph reported an ISIS "bomb plot was … [Read more...] about MANPADS Threats To Civilian Aviation
ISIS/IS
Stabbing Israelis – Palestinian Jihadi “Resistance”
Left: This photo was posted on Free Palestine Facebook page on October 19, 2015. Some Israel's top terrorism experts are strangely echoing secretary of State John Kerry statements that the recent wave of Palestinian terrorism is secular and … [Read more...] about Stabbing Israelis – Palestinian Jihadi “Resistance”
The incremental Road To Hell*
If there were one lesson from America’s tragic Vietnam encounter – and as some dead white man has said, all historical analogies are odious — it is that incremental approaches to war inevitably result in disaster. News reports suggest that Pres. … [Read more...] about The incremental Road To Hell*
One Year of the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula*
Left: Egyptian President al-Sisi (C) inspects weapons, found with militants, in Sinai peninsula on July 4, 2015.(Photo: Reuters) Sinai militancy changed over 2015, following the decision of the peninsula’s main violent jihadi group to pledge … [Read more...] about One Year of the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula*
Weekly Review, Oct 18-23, 2015
Taiwan's Democracy Needs U.S. Arms - Sol W. Sanders - If there was any doubt that Taiwan is the first democratic state in the long history of the Chinese, it came this week in the buildup to January presidential election. The current ruling … [Read more...] about Weekly Review, Oct 18-23, 2015
ISIS Takes a Chapter from the Palestinian Incitement Book
Left: Screenshot"Infographic by Islamic State militants on how to kill Jews" Bi-Partisan Congressional condemnations of the Palestinian Authority (PA) for inciting violence against Israelis, such as passed by House Foreign Affairs Committee on … [Read more...] about ISIS Takes a Chapter from the Palestinian Incitement Book
U.S. Conflicting Objectives in Syria
Left: The A- 10 plane is famed for its tank-destroying capabilities. A day before Bashar Assad's meeting with Russian President Putin in Moscow, the United States signed a deal with Russia, to avoid entering "the same battle space" over the Syrian … [Read more...] about U.S. Conflicting Objectives in Syria
Weekly Review, October 5-9, 2015
U.S. Does Not Condemn Palestinian Violence - Rachel Ehrenfeld - The White House latest condemnation of the escalating violence in Jerusalem is akin to that issued by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Both are talking from both sides of … [Read more...] about Weekly Review, October 5-9, 2015
Russia’s Return to the Middle East*
A Russian army pilot poses at a cockpit of SU-25M jet fighter at Hmeimim airbase in Syria on Oct 3 2015. (Alexander Kots, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Photo via AP) Russia is back in the Middle East in a wholesale fashion signing huge aircraft sales … [Read more...] about Russia’s Return to the Middle East*
Turkey’s Growing Instability*
Left: Credit: political cartoonist Latuff, for التقرير (Altagreer) Once NATO’s formidable eastern anchor, Turkey is increasingly becoming a major problem for Washington policymakers and a contributor to the Mideast chaos. The change is all the more … [Read more...] about Turkey’s Growing Instability*