Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — After nearly a year of quiet, Islamic rebel militias have renewed an offensive on Syria’s capital. Opposition sources said at least two rebel militias were conducting daily mortar and rocket fire on the regime of President Bashar Assad. They said the attacks, which killed more than 20 people, were meant […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States has proposed a restructuring of the Iraqi military. Officials said the administration of President Barack Obama drafted a plan to form an Iraqi military limited to border operations. The officials said the military would reflect the cantonization of Iraq into Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish enclaves. “In our […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com Rocketing, bombing and bloodshed in the Middle East from Gaza to Syria and Iraq provide a bonanza for the world’s arms-manufacturers, none more than the North Koreans and the Americans. For North Korea, the more rockets and missiles that are fired, the more they get to sell to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com BAGHDAD — Iraq has formed units to recapture a key city from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. Officials said the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki has approved the formation of units meant to contain more than 10,000 soldiers to recapture Mosul. They said the units consisted of Sunnis and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Geostrategy-Direct.com ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has sent attack helicopters and established a command and control center along the border with Iraq. Officials said the Defense Ministry and the National Guard Ministry were cooperating to bolster military deployment along the 800-kilometer border with Iraq. They said the two ministries oversaw the deployment […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Iraq’s military has lost confidence in its command. A leading U.S. commander said the Iraq Army collapsed because of a loss of loyalty and confidence. U.S. Army commander Gen. Raymond Odierno said the politicization of the Iraqi military eroded the trust of its rank-and-file and led to the Army flight […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — Syria has deployed Iranian combat units to recapture a major energy field in the north. Opposition sources said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been summoned to battle Al Qaida fighters in Syria. They said IRGC deployed hundreds of elite troops to expel Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Fariborz Saremi The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) extraordinary gains in much of Iraq have upset the geopolitical apple cart in the region. It has called into question both the value of the West’s intervention in Iraq and the degree of influence Iran enjoys in the area. It […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has seen nearly a decade of work in Iraq go down the drain. A leading U.S. military commander has asserted that the collapse of Iraq by Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant could have been avoided. Gen. James Amos, outgoing commandant of the Marine […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Iraq has appealed to the United States for air strikes on Al Qaida. Iraq’s ambassador to the United States has urged the administration of President Barack Obama to escalate U.S. military intervention. Iraqi ambassador Lukman Faily cited air strikes on ISIL positions in northern Iraq. “You should offer air support […]