Why the Next President Must Regionalize Iraq

Iraqi government forces drive their armoured vehicles during an operation, backed by air support from the US-led coalition, in Fallujah's southern Shuhada neighbourhood to retake the area from the Islamic State group on June 15, 2016. Pfeifle was the deputy national security advisor for strategic communications and global outreach during the surge in Iraq from 2007 to 2009 to divide Iraq into three semi-autonomous regions along sectarian lines.

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At a recent campaign rally, Donald Trump defended former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's record on terrorism, noting that Hussein was a "bad guy" who was nevertheless very efficient at "killing terrorists." House Speaker Paul Ryan immediately distanced himself from Trump's remarks, and leading Republican donors jumped in with criticism as well.

Secret chapter of 9/11 inquiry released after 13-year wait

Under wraps for 13 years, the U.S. on Friday released once-top secret pages from a congressional report into 9/11 that questioned whether Saudis who were in contact with the hijackers after they arrived in the U.S. knew what they were planning. The newly declassified document , with light redactions, names people the hijackers associated with before they carried out the attacks, killing nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and on a plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

‘Horrific terrorist attack’ kills 75, injures many more in Nice, France

Seventy-five people are dead and reports of up to 50 are injured after a semi-truck loaded with explosives intentionally plowed into a Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France. President Barack Obama called the event a "horrific terrorist attack" France's Terror Prosecutor's Office has officially opened an investigation into the incident.

What Blair said to Bush: the 525 day route to the Iraq war that spawned a Parliamentary ‘contempt’ action

The 9/11 terror attacks on the US which killed 3000 people proved to be the catalyst for a fundamental change in the US and UK's approach to Iraq with talk of military action already on the agenda within a matter of weeks. The long-awaited Chilcot Report showed that while there was a public narrative of negotiation, the country was actively planning for a possible conflict after then president George Bush's famous summit with prime minister Tony Blair at his Crawford ranch in Texas in April, 2002.

Islam Needs a Reformation

Islamic terrorism has become the single biggest threat to stability in the world. Attacks killing many hundreds have occurred over the past 18 months in Bangladesh, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, France, the United States and elsewhere.

The US and Russia may have just sealed Al Qaeda’s fate in Syria

Al Qaeda has thrived in Syria thanks to the continued political survival of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Washington's failure to adequately support the revolution's more moderate opposition groups, Syria expert Charles Lister wrote Wednesday . "The principal benefactor of Assad's survival is not Assad, nor Russia, Iran, Hezbollah or even ISIS - it is Al Qaeda," Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and author of "The Syrian Jihad," wrote in the Daily Beast.

Obama to leave about 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan at yeara s end

President Barack Obama said Wednesday the U.S. will leave 8,400 troops in Afghanistan when he completes his term, down slightly from the current number but well up from the 5,500 he announced previously, arguing America's interests depend on helping Afghanistan's struggling government fight continuing threats from the Taliban and others. In a statement at the White House, Obama said he was acting after receiving recommendations from top military leaders who urged him to revise his earlier plan.

Countries on Alert Mystery surrounds location of former Gitmo detainee

A South American airline issued a memo to its employees Monday to be on the lookout for a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was resettled in Uruguay after being freed by the U.S. and has since vanished. Danilo Alves, a spokesman for Colombia-based Avianca Airlines in Sao Paulo, told The Associated Press that the alert was issued internally to employees, but declined to give any more details.

Senators warn against troop cuts in Afghanistan

The international military mission in Afghanistan will fail if troop levels are reduced further, with potentially dangerous repercussions for the rest of the world, a delegation of U.S. lawmakers warned during a visit to Kabul today. Fifteen years after an American-led operation toppled the Taliban in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Barack Obama is considering whether to maintain the current level of 9,800 U.S. troops or reduce it to 5,500 by the end of the year, as current plans call for.

Shocker: Gun used in Paris terrorist attack part of Fast and Furious gun walking op

One of the guns used by terrorists to shoot up Paris on November 13 of last year originated in Phoenix,, AZ and was sold illegally as part of the Fast and Furious gun walking operation. A Report of Investigation filed by a case agent in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives tracked the gun used in the Paris attacks to a Phoenix gun owner who sold it illegally, "off book," Judicial Watch's law enforcement sources confirm.