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The latest US failure in Syria is particularly striking
In May 2014, President Obama promised a new U.S. effort to train and equip moderate Syrian rebel forces.The next month, the administration asked Congress for $500 million to fund the effort, with the...
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Iran is building a force in Iraq that Baghdad can’t control
A central part of the US strategy to defeat ISIS is to reignite a fraction on the 100,000 strong Sunni awakening that played a major role in the US surge strategy against Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) during...
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ISIS is forcing the West to consider a risky strategy
When it comes to defeating ISIS without putting boots on the ground, the US-led coalition is running out of ideas.A US-led initiative to train and equip 5,000 moderate Syrian rebels has graduated just...
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Turkey wants to create an ethnic militia to counter Syria's Kurds
BEIRUT – Syrian Turkmen military and political officials, who are close to Turkey, have been moving to form a unified army in northern Syria capable of confronting the Kurdish People’s Protection Units...
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Over 200 Americans have gone or tried to go to Syria to fight, according to...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 200 Americans have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria to fight for Islamic militants, Federal Bureau of Investigation chief James Comey said on Wednesday."We...
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FBI: Barring law enforcement from encrypted communications makes us...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barring law enforcement authorities' access to encrypted communications would make it easier for Islamic State sympathizers to attack the United States, FBI Chief James Comey...
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Syria's neighbors now host 4 million of its refugees
GENEVA (Reuters) - The number of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries has passed 4 million, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Thursday, adding that the total was on course to reach 4.27 million...
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The number of refugees fleeing Syria is the largest from any crisis in almost...
ISTANBUL (AP) — More than 4 million Syrians have fled abroad since the 2011 outbreak of civil war, the largest number from any crisis in almost 25 years, the United Nations said Thursday.A recent wave...
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US-led warplanes are pummeling the de facto ISIS capital like never before
The US-led coalition battling the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) has dramatically intensified its air war against the militant group with strikes pummeling the group's de-facto capital of...
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The Syrian army is closing in on ISIS in this key city
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army said on Thursday it was closing in on Islamic State militants in control of Palmyra, in a major offensive to recapture the city of Roman ruins from the jihadists.A...
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UN: Yemen's warring factions have reached a truce
DUBAI/SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's warring factions confirmed their agreement on Thursday to a temporary humanitarian ceasefire set to begin on Friday night, United Nations envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed...
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The next wave of Syrian refugees could end up in Europe
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey would struggle to cope with a new influx of refugees from Syria's civil war, and many of them would likely end up trying to get into Europe, Turkey's EU Affairs minister...
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ISIS is offering a mix of brutality and charity during Ramadan
BEIRUT (AP) — During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Islamic State group is showing two faces to the millions who live under its rule in Iraq and Syria — handing out food and alms to the poor to...
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What the Islamic State shows us about human nature and torture
Reporting about the Islamic State inevitably means watching its videos, but that's not something I would wish on anyone. The group has created a public theater of death on the Internet — beheading...
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Refugee stuck in Greece: 'We’re living the Thug Life'
In a dusty field that straddles the Greek-Macedonian border, quite where one country ends and the other begins is not entirely clear.But several Macedonian soldiers in the area are very certain. “Get...
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A Christian militia is fighting alongside Iran-backed Shias against ISIS in Iraq
Local Muslim militias aren’t the only ones taking on the Islamic State group as it continues its military spread through Iraq.Christians driven from their homes by the fighting have also formed their...
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Assad loves the Iran deal
Following the signing of the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he expected Iran to increase its backing of "just causes" throughout the region. In a...
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We did a wargame with ISIS' global strategy — and the results weren't pretty
The United States currently faces multiple national security threats in an environment of growing disorder.ISIS is executing a sophisticated global strategy that involves simultaneous efforts in Iraq...
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ISIS is winning hearts and minds in a deceptively simple way
While many Westerners associate Islamic State propaganda with violence and beheadings, the terror group also likes to showcase its deceptively "softer" side to those within its territory in the Middle...
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Obama says he was 'encouraged' by a recent phone call from Vladimir Putin
President Barack Obama sat down with Tom Friedman of The New York Times to make his case for the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, and his statements on Russia stood out as particularly rosy.After saying...
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