The Taliban Erases Western Gains in Afghanistan
The men who charged into the city of Kunduz at 3 a.m. on Monday 10 days ago wore masks in addition to headbands emblazoned with Islamic fighting slogans, witnesses say. Most of them came from the surrounding area — hundreds of young men between the ages of 15 and 25, armed with Kalashnikovs and roc…
In fight against Islamic State, Kurds expand their territory
From the terrace of the house Abu Suhail occupies, you can see Iraq’s ethnic fault lines widening. Like many houses in this northern Iraqi town, the drab concrete building used to be owned by an Arab family. Abu Suhail, a Kurd who owns a small shop, lived down the block. He and his family shared gla…
ISIS Media Output Drops as Military Pressure Rises, Report Says
The vaunted propaganda operations of the Islamic State, which helped lure more than 30,000 foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq, have dropped off drastically as the extremist group has come under military pressure, according to a study by terrorism researchers at West Point. In addition, the rese…
How to help North Koreans without helping the regime
When Typhoon Lionrock swept through North Korea from late August to early September, it destroyed tens of thousands of buildings and left thousands homeless and even more destitute than they were before. The destruction was so severe that the KCNA declared that it the ‘biggest cataclysm’ since …
The Growing Danger of Military Conflict with Russia
Once more, the circle in U.S.-Russia relations is complete. The Clinton administration took office in 1993 promising a “Bill and Boris” strategic partnership between the two countries, and ended with recriminations over the Kosovo operation, with Gen. Wesley Clark prepared to start World War III to …
What to Know About Space Security
Space is a vital part of national and international infrastructures. Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, humanity has been using space for the purposes of communications, monitoring our environment, tracking the planets in the solar system and the stars in the galaxies, proving data for global posi…
Colombia’s Civil Conflict
Civil conflict in Colombia, one of the closest U.S. allies in Latin America, has left as many as 220,000 dead (PDF), 25,000 disappeared, and 5.7 million displaced over the last half century. By the early 2000s, fighting among the military, left-wing guerrillas, and right-wing paramilitaries had…
Landmark Paris Climate Pact to Take Effect in 30 Days
Moving with a diplomatic haste rivaling the rapid recent rise in global temperatures, the European Union on Wednesday joined dozens of countries in signing onto a United Nations climate treaty, pushing it to within a month of taking legal force. Following the filing of paperwork in re…
Why world leaders are meeting to discuss hydrofluorocarbons
IN 1985 a gaping hole was found in the ozone layer above Antarctica. Two years later leaders from around the world signed the Montreal Protocol, a treaty to phase out the substances causing it, known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in refrigeration and as propellants in products such …
Europe’s health systems on life support
Europe’s health care systems aren’t feeling very well. Doctors have been threatening massive strikes in Britain to protest pay and conditions. Italian regions are going bankrupt trying to fund medicines. Drugmakers are pulling diabetes drugs from Germany, blaming government-set prices that don’t let…