War & Conflict Archive

Libya’s interim authorities have begun reconciliation talks with the country’s Tuareg nomadic tribes, who are considered of vital importance to regional security in Libya’s oil-rich south. Nick Rowlands reports.

DHOBLEY, Somalia — Less than a mile from the Kenyan border, dozens of soldiers toting AK-47s saunter along the derelict and flooded roads that snake through Dhobley’s ramshackle homes and markets. Some are members of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Others pledge allegiance to a local, allied militia. The majority don immaculate camouflage, though some wear casual, civilian dress. All are pitted against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabaab militant group that has gained a significant footing in southern Somalia since the ouster of the Union of Islamic Courts in 2006. And all welcome Kenya’s two-week-old military foray into Somalia that aims to […]

The past month has seen an unusual flurry of diplomacy between the U.S. and Pakistan, with relations going from troubled to tense to partially reconciled. The row began when outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Haqqani Network was a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, the ISI. The Pakistani government and military responded by denying any such links and strongly cautioned against U.S. unilateral action inside Pakistan. The U.S. then took steps to lower the temperature, dispatching U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman, followed by a high-profile […]

As Arab League officials await a formal response from the government of Bashar al-Assad, Syrian State TV has announced a deal between Damascus and the Arab League. Among the points in the plan is an immediate end to the violence, which means Syrian troops should be taken off the streets.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drove an evolution in U.S. military doctrine that saw the emergence and rapid rise to prominence of counterinsurgency and stability operations. With the U.S. preparing to leave Iraq and draw down its mission in Afghanistan, this WPR report examines U.S. military doctrine in — and after — the Long War. Below are links to each article in this special report, which subscribers can read in full. Not a subscriber? Purchase this document for Kindle or as a PDF from Scribd. Or subscribe now. COIN in Iraq Institutionalizing Adaptation: U.S. Counterinsurgency Capabilities Must ImproveBy John […]