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The stabilization of Iraq has become wedged on a plateau, beyond which further improvement will be a slow process. According to incident metrics compiled by Olive Group, the average monthly number of insurgent attacks between January and June 2011 was 380.[1] The incident count in January was 376, indicating that incident levels remained roughly stable in the first half of 2011. One reason behind this stability is the ongoing virulence of northern and central Iraqi insurgents operating within Sunni Arab communities. Five predominately Sunni provinces and western Baghdad were responsible for an average of 68.5% of national incidents each month...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A former Iraqi general, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, is reported to be coordinating attacks in Iraq by foreign fighters and Iraqi regime loyalists, a US defense official said. "There are reports that the al-Douri is coordinating the attacks," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The reports in military channels fingering al-Douri as the coordinator of the attacks probably came from the recent capture in Mosul of a former secretary of al-Douri and two senior members of Ansar al-Islam who were close to the general, the official said. Number six on the US list of 55...

The Long War Journal: Al Douri forms nationalist Sunni coalition; 1920s Revolution Brigades denounces al Qaeda Written by Bill Roggio on October 4, 2007 11:34 AM to The Long War Journal Available online at: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/10/al_douri_forms_natio.php The Sunni insurgency continues to fracture as US and Iraqi forces are on the offensive in central and northern Iraq. Izzat Ibrahim al Douri, the most wanted Baathist and leader in the Sunni insurgency, has formed a new insurgent front which is willing to negotiate, while a faction of the 1920s Revolution Brigades openly denounced al Qaeda. A grouping of 22 Sunni insurgent groups have...

While only 'humanitarian adviser' boots on the ground are present in Iraq (and Syria), Reuters reports that preparations are under way near Ukraine's western border for a joint military exercise this month with more than 1,000 troops from the United States and its allies. As Obama told reporters last week, "that a military solution to this problem is not going to be forthcoming," it seems a little odd 'strategically' to go ahead with the Rapid Trident exercise Sept. 16-26 as a sign of the commitment of NATO states to support non-NATO member Ukraine, entailing the first significant deployment of U.S....

<p>As Russia forces push forward towards the southeastern Ukraine coastal city of Mariupol and evidence mounts of direct Russian military support to the insurgent fighters, besieged volunteer units of "patriots" leading the way in the country's fight back say they are not receiving enough support from Kiev to win the war.</p>

-Kiev Says Crossing of Russian Trucks Without Red Cross Violates Agreement Ukraine charged Russia with violating its borders by driving dozens of trucks into the rebel-held east of the country on Friday, a sharp escalation in tensions after an extended standoff over a large convoy believed to be carrying humanitarian aid that Moscow dispatched last week. Russia's foreign ministry said it sent in the trucks unilaterally because Kiev was deliberately halting the delivery. But Ukrainian officials said trucks had entered Ukraine without being accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross, violating a previous agreement. They charged that Russian...

-Ukrainian official claimed troops moved in just as the city was poised to fall -But they have since been forced to deny the allegation after strong rebuttal -If true it would have been tantamount to an invasion of Ukraine by Russia -Putin set to meet Ukrainian president Poroshenko in Belarus on Monday Muddled security officials in Ukraine were last night forced to deny a huge Russian military convoy had been deployed in the eastern rebel-run city of Lugansk. The strong rebuttal suggested an earlier claim about an invasion by Vladimir Putin's troops amounted to a crude propaganda move by the...

With passage of the Third Force Act, popularly known as the Ku Klux Act, Congress authorizes President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law, impose heavy penalties against terrorist organizations, and use military force to suppress the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). ---SNIP-- the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against African-Americans and white Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections. In a few Southern states, Republicans organized militia units to break up the Klan.

I was speaking with Mrs. Hoagy62 this morning about some of the threads I was seeing here on FR. There is a LOT of things being said about defense in the face of tyranny, tactics to be used when going up against tyrannical forces, and general commentary about what one does in certain situations. One of the things that I found a little disturbing is the thought that one should target families of those who may be in the employ of the government/military/police forces on the opposite side of a possible CWII conflict. I refer to the comment on the...

I’ve cobbling this entry together between uptime and downtime over the last couple of weeks so bear with me on this one. I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of how counter-insurgency intelligence and exploitation systems work so I’m going to touch on them a bit in this entry.  It’s by no means comprehensive as that would take an entire volume to document.  So what I’m going to attempt to do here is give the reader some insight into how an insurgency is identified, exploited, and targeted using a fairly simple and brief scenario.Make no mistake that over the last...

Today I want to talk about The Troubles. I previously talked about Operation Banner An Analysis of British Operations in North Ireland.That is worth reading though it is a bit dry. So here we go. For a brief recap the problems between England and Ireland probably go back 900 years or so. We will focus a bit more on current history. The Anglo- Irish war from roughly (start and stop points are hard for guerrilla wars) 1919 to 1922 ended up partitioning Ireland into 2 entities. The 26 counties that make up the majority of Ireland were granted Dominion...

TEHRAN, Iran — Five Iranian officials who were held in Iraq for more than two years by U.S. forces on suspicion of aiding local Shiite militants returned to Iran Sunday, where the Iranian foreign minister hailed their return as a victory for Iran. The five diplomats flew to Tehran from Iraq on Sunday and were met at the airport by a cheering crowd of onlookers who carried the men on their shoulders and put garlands of flowers around their necks. Iran's Foreign Minster Manouchehr Mottaki in a news conference with the men that was carried by Iran's Press-TV minutes after...

UNC Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is sponsering a protest march from "the pit" on campus to the local Chapel Hill Recruiting Center, downtown. They promise it will end in "creative action" at the recruiting center. SDS pagePrevious "creative action" has resulted in three paint vandalism attacks on military facilities in Chapel Hill in the last year, once at the ROTC office and twice on this very recruiting station. ROTC attack pics recruiting station attackFurthermore, the rally is organized by Kosta Harlan, notable for his article "The Iraqi Resistance is Just, and Should be Supported" in which he brags...

Imagine a group of individuals seizing an American town or city, disarming the local law enforcement agency, apprehending and imprisoning citizens who pose threats to their agenda, and taking over the local government. Such a scenario may seem unlikely to the average American unless one were to consider a group composed of something like Islamic extremists or foreign nationals who are anti-American with a political agenda. No doubt the guardians that we task to protect and defend our freedoms, our lives, and our property consider such a scenario as well as many potential other ones that can pose threats to...

Military Strategy: What are the optimal siege tactics for taking Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle? What if the Mouse House rises up as an evil totalitarianism government, enslaving the masses and dooming us all to a life of hand-stitching Pluto plushies? Something would have to be done. And one pack of folks has outlined the perfect plan of attack on Magic Kingdom's Cinderella Castle. The story originates at Quora.com as follows ... Cinderella Castle is the the worldwide-recognized icon of the Disney empire. Physical representations of it stand at the center of two Disney Parks: Walt Disney World in Florida, and...

y George Friedman The U.S. military for years has debated the utility of counterinsurgency operations. Drawing from a sentiment that harkens back to the Vietnam War, many within the military have long opposed...There is of course another dimension of asymmetric warfare, which encapsulates guerrilla warfare and special operations warfare. This is warfare by which highly trained light infantry forces are deployed on a clearly defined mission but are not dependent on the local population.

Tens of Thousands of Refugees Trapped at Christian Compound After Mass Slaughter in Duékoué | FavStocks

Moammar Khadafy can survive and even prevail over the vastly more pow erful and technologically advanced NATO-led coalition. To do so, the Libyan dictator can not only exploit the inherent weaknesses of any coalition, but even turn NATO's technologies into a weakness. From the Navy's Top Gun to the Army's OPFOR (Opposing Force), the US military systematically trains to think like its enemies -- to anticipate how the enemy will try to overcome US advantages, pitting his strengths against our weaknesses. This classic "Red Hat versus Blue Hat" analysis begins by comparing objectives. The United States and NATO want to...

As the cliche goes, there are no coincidences in politics. Obama fundraiser group Code Pink just happened to have arrived in Cairo last week for the group’s ninth visit there in two years as part of its campaign to undermine the Mubarak government and help Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza. Code Pink and the media are trying to portray the leftist group's 'sudden' appearance in Cairo Wednesday as an act of courageous support for a democratic revolution. Nothing could be further from the truth.Code Pink protests the Mubarak government in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt. February 2, 2011. Code...

Indonesia orders Super Tucanos for light attack role By Greg Waldron Indonesia plans to buy eight Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano light attack turboprops, and could eventually double its order - the first for the Brazilian type in the Asia-Pacific region. "Air force headquarters has decided to replace our Rockwell OV-10 Broncos with as many as 16 Super Tucanos," says Indonesian air force operational commander Yushan Sayuti, according to a report by the country's official Antara news agency. The first Super Tucanos will arrive in 2012 under the initial order, which also includes ground-support stations and a logistics package. Several other...