By Joe Ritter While the U.S. military fields an impressive arsenal of unmanned aircraft, the effectiveness of these drones is largely unproven in roles beyond counter-terrorism. In Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and elsewhere across the Middle East, drones like the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper provided the United States and its allies with a decisive intelligence […]
Category: War On The Rocks
By Nicholas Hanson Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger is under siege. From former senator, secretary of the Navy, and decorated Marine Corps veteran Jim Webb to living Marine Corps legend Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper, the criticisms of his Force Design 2030 have been loud and comprehensive. On April 1, Politico reported, “an influential […]
By Douglas A. Ollivant Observers of Iraq were shocked this week by the most tectonic shift in the country’s politics since the defeat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Muqtada al-Sadr, the mercurial, firebrand cleric, in the wake of his electoral victory in Iraq’s October elections, suddenly directed all the members of his political movement to […]