John Sjoholm

Tal Afar: Battle at the ‘Gates of Hell’

August 31, 2017

The soundtrack of war is playing across the Iraqi frontline. The white noise of monotonous clinks and thuds, shots and mortar rounds

Wag the Dog: Has Reuters been had? An Iran story questioned

August 4, 2017

AFRICA·Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·Op-Ed·Opinion | Analysis·United Nations·WORLD NEWS

A recent Reuters news piece, relying primarily on unnamed sources, has reported that Iran is currently violating both a United Nations embargo

Mattis and Trump, a rift between a warrior and a civilian widens over sex

August 4, 2017

AMERICAS·Headlines·Op-Ed·Opinion | Analysis·Politics·VETERANS

President Donald Trump announced, through Twitter, on July 26th, that he intends to ban transgender individuals from serving in the US armed

Selling the Kurds, our new media darlings

July 24, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·Op-Ed·WORLD NEWS

The quickly dwindling threat from the Islamic State will soon result in Western news consumers and security investments turning elsewhere. With the

Image General Dostum, the hero that Afghanistan deserves

General Dostum, the hero Afghanistan deserves

July 22, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·Op-Ed·Opinion | Analysis·WORLD NEWS

Afghanistan faces a power play between current President Ghani and legendary former warlord and general, Vice President, Abdul Rashid Dostum. On July

The G20 Summit, testing America’s relevance in a Trump world

July 8, 2017

AMERICAS·ASIA·FOREIGN POLICY·Headlines·NATIONAL SECURITY·Op-Ed·Opinion | Analysis·Politics·RUSSIA·RUSSIA | FSU

Op-Ed: The G20 Summit is a week of the New World Order on display. The G20 Summit is in full swing in

Middle East – North Africa News Brief

July 3, 2017

MENA·MIDDLE EAST·News Wire

MENA BRIEF, SITREP June 27 – July 2: Middle East and Northern Africa Regional Low Intensity Conflicts. [MISC]: The Qatari-Gulf State diplomatic situation;

Iraq Army captures IS mosque declares victory

Iraqi Army captures iconic Islamic State Mosque; declares end of ISIS

July 1, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·WORLD NEWS

Iraqi forces have captured the iconic Great Mosque of al Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, from the Islamic State, and proclaimed a symbolic

Image main Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi caricature Tehran

Abu Bakr al Baghdadi: Wanted, dead or alive

June 22, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·Op-Ed·Opinion | Analysis

Russia claims to have killed the Islamic State founder, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But what does that mean? Does it even matter? The

Updates from the Syrian front: the push on al Raqqa

June 14, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·News·WORLD NEWS

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish and Arab militia coalition backed by the U.S., continue to advance through al Raqqa City,

Iran’s response to Islamic State terrorism

June 9, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·WORLD NEWS

Two teams of Islamic State fighters struck civilian targets throughout Tehran early June 7. The teams attacked the Iranian Parliament and the

Battle against ISIS: the walls of Raqqa are falling

June 9, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·WORLD NEWS

Across the region, the Islamic State is being driven back. In Iraq, the Iraqi military is pushing the Salafist Jihadist group out

Terror strikes Tehran

June 7, 2017

Headlines·MENA·MIDDLE EAST·News·WORLD NEWS

Early Wednesday morning two teams consisting of 8 Islamic State fighters carried out a series of coordinated attacks against the parliament building

Review: Brad Pitt’s ‘War Machine’ goes to war, and gets lost

June 2, 2017

Culture·FILM·Headlines·HUMOR·Op-Ed

Netflix’s latest film “War Machine” stars Brad Pitt as General Glen McMahon. McMahon’s character is based on General Stanley McChrystal, who attempted