On May 3, 2016, US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Charles Keating IV was fatally wounded in Tal Askuf, Iraq, during a firefight with the Islamic State. Keating was a SEAL assigned to a quick-reaction force (QRF) sent in to rescue eleven Americans who were advising the Kurdish Peshmerga. It appears that the OPSEC or…
Cutting the Gordian knot of Syria is beyond OUR power
March 18, 2016
The Gordian knot is a legend from antiquity used to symbolize what seems like an insoluble program. Gordias the peasant was made king of the Phrygians; his son Midas dedicated Gordias’s ox-cart to the Phrygian god Sabazios and tied it to a post with an intricate knot of cornel bark. In 333 BCE, Alexander the…
The Kurds get the help they need
February 23, 2015
Sit back, and I’ll show you something truly incredible. I never thought I’d see it in my lifetime, but it’s happening. The Kurds are getting the help they need on the ground—but not from the US. That’s a good thing in the long run. We’re seeing cultures give up ancient enmities and religious bigotry in…
The difference between Kurds and the Islamic State
January 25, 2015
Actually there are lots and lots of differences between Kurds and the Islamic State. An example is how the Kurds put their lives on the line for people they don’t even like, the Yazidis. It’s one thing to risk everything for those you love, but to rescue people who you traditionally disdain? That’s the definition…