By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 26 February 2019
Islamic State terrorists responsible for the Danghara attack in Tajikistan, July 2018 [source]
The Unravelling of a Guided Islamic State Plot in Russia
Leave a reply
Tag Archives: Islamic State
The Islamic State Newsletter Explains How it Killed American Soldiers in Syria
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 12 February 2019
Al-Naba 165, page 4
In the 165th edition of Al-Naba, the weekly newsletter of the Islamic State (IS), was released on 17 January 2019. Al-Naba 165 contained a description of the suicide bombing at the Qasr al-Omara restaurant in Minbij, northern Syria, on 16 January, which killed four Americans: Army Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan Farmer; Navy Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent; Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) civilian Scott Wirtz; and Pentagon contractor and linguist Ghadir Taher. At least ten other people were killed, eight civilians and two officials from the “Syrian Democratic Forces“ (SDF). The newsletter also contains an interview with an IS official operating in the Minbij area, who explains how the group’s sleeper cells and surveillance apparatus tracked U.S. movements and made prior attempts to attack the U.S. and its allies. Continue reading
The Folly of Trying to Buy Assad’s Loyalty From Iran
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 5 February 2019
Bashar al-Assad meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Damascus, Syria, 3 September 2018 // SANA handout to REUTERS
The Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad has nearly collapsed twice under pressure from the armed insurrection, in late 2012 and early 2015. On both occasions, Assad was rescued by outside powers, first Iran and then a joint Iranian-Russian operation. It has been a recurring illusion that there is or will be, a strategic split between Russia and Iran. This prospect has continued to tantalise the US and others, and occasional Moscow-Tehran disagreements are presented as evidence that dynamics are shifting this way. Another round of such speculation is currently underway. Continue reading
Can Russia Reconcile Turkey and Syria?
This article was published at Ahval under the headline, “Back to the Future for Turkey and Syria?”
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 1 February 2019
American base on the outskirts of Minbij, 26 December 2018. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP)
U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement that U.S. troops would be withdrawn from Syria came with many visible costs. The benefits the anti-Islamic State (ISIS) campaign has delivered to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran, and Russia were made permanent. There is also more space for ISIS and greater instability in northeast Syria as Turkey confronts Syrian Kurdish forces. And there is the political cost to the United States of leaving its Kurdish anti-ISIS partner to face Turkey and the pro-Assad coalition alone. Continue reading
Israel Returns to Africa
Published at The Arab Weekly
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 27 January 2019
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Chadian President Idriss Deby meeting in N’Djamena, 20 January 2019 [AFP]
Continue reading
The Consequences of American Withdrawal from Syria
A version of this article was published at CapX
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 21 December 2018
President Trump in a Twitter video saying fallen soldiers agree with his plan to withdraw from Syria, 19 December 2018 [image source]
Continue reading
Would Turkey Risk a Clash with America in Syria?
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 18 December 2018
Tel Abyad, Syria [source]
Islamic State Claims the Strasbourg Christmas Market Attack
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 15 December 2018
Strasbourg Market, 11 December 2018 [image source]
Why is Turkey Threatening a Third Incursion into Syria?
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 14 December 2018
The United States’ policy in Syria has been, as James Jeffrey, the Special Representative for Syria Engagement, explained recently, focused on “one mission”: the destruction of the Islamic State (Daesh).
The US attempted to pursue this counter-terrorism mission in isolation from the politics of the broader Syrian war. This failed, as it was bound to do, and it has laid the ground for a series of sub-conflicts, another of which might be about to erupt. Continue reading
The Russian Relationship with Israel: A History
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 12 December 2018
© AP Photo / Jim Hollander, Pool
Essay: “Zionism is Making Us Stupid”: The Russian Relationship with Israel from the Soviets to Putin Continue reading
Kyle Orton's Blog 