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This Week in War. A Friday round-up of what happened and what’s been written in the world of war and military/security affairs this week. It’s a mix of news reports, policy briefs, blog posts and longform journalism.
- More than 5000 people have died in the Central African Republic (CAR) in the last 9 months, according to the AP’s tally. The AP admits this is probably only a portion of the real number.
- About 1500 more UN troops will head to CAR next week.
- CAR is the crisis that never makes headlines.
- Libya has accused Sudan of sending weapons to Islamists in Tripoli and expelled the Sudanese military attache.
- The UN helicopter that crashed in South Sudan last month was shot down.
- Peacekeepers in Somalia used their hospital connections to target vulnerable women and girls for sexual assault and rape.
- With the killing of Al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane has been confirmed, the group chose a new leader — Ahmad Umar.
- Drone footage surveys the extent of damage in Gaza.
- Israel has ordered investigation into five incidents during the latest Gaza war, including the deaths of the four boys playing soccer on the beach.
- CrisisGroup analyzes the importance of Aleppo in the Syrian civil war.
- The largest Syrian rebel group, Ahrar al-Sham, lost nearly all of its leadership in an unexplained explosion.
- BuzzFeed profiles a smuggler who has brought thousands of foreign fighters into Syria.
- The Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda linked Syrian group, has released 45 peacekeepers.
- Yemen is pursuing talks with the Houthi rebels.
- A transcript of President Obama’s remarks on ISIS and strategy from Wednesday.
- And… Obama, airstrikes and that tricky War Powers Act.
- The Pentagon is authorized to proceed with leadership targeting as a tactic against ISIS, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi at the top of the hit list.
- Partnerships against ISIS bring their own complications.
- Kurdish Peshmerga forces make advances against ISIS with the help of US airstrikes.
- The Washington Post keeps a running tally of US strikes against ISIS.
- Looking at the legal rationale offered up by the administration for conducting strikes in Syria.
- A more in-depth look at what was on the ISIS laptop obtained by journalists.
- ISIS may have taken anti-tank weapons from Syrian rebels.
- Tim Arango, the Baghdad Bureau Chief for the New York Times did a Reddit AMA.
- In the thirteen years (this week) since the 9/11 attacks, how has al-Qaeda changed? It has been weakened but it hasn’t been defeated.
- The Iraqi parliament approved a new government headed by Haider al-Abadi.
- Qatar confirms the detention of two British men researching migrant labor issues.
- Afghanistan’s election results are likely coming next week.
- Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has already said he will not accept the official results.
- Pakistan is digging a trench along the border with Afghanistan.
- Imran Khan marks a month of protests — demonstrations which have wearied Pakistan’s capital city.
- Luhansk counts its dead.
- Russia still has 1000 troops in Ukraine and 20,000 at the border.
- The EU tightens Russia sanctions.
- Mexican journalist Karla Silva was savagely beaten for her critical reporting.
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says the declassified CIA torture report might not be released until November.
- We already know, though, that CIA waterboarding of top terrorism suspects involved “holding them underwater until the point of death.”
- Zelda, the Dear Abby of the NSA.
- In 2008, Yahoo! ended its legal battle against complying with the PRISM program because the government threatened a $250,000/day non-compliance fine.
- An appeals court ruled that Jose Padilla’s 17-year sentence was too lenient and revised it to 21 years.
- Crowdsourcing a catalogue of all the guns of World War One.
Photo: Bambari, Central African Republic. June 2014. A Moroccan peacekeeper with the UN’s MINUSCA peacekeeping force on patrol. Catianne Tijerina/UN.
And why don’t we strive for peace? Or furthermore, why do we think war and sheer force will lead to peace?
