On February 21, leaders of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)—the official umbrella group of Iraq’s Shia-dominated militias—announced that they had agreed to appoint Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi as the chief of staff of their organization (al-Mayadeen, February 20). Al-Muhammadawi (a.k.a. Abu Fadak) has been a shadowy... MORE

In early May, the Taliban announced the appointment of Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of its founder-leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and deputy to its current amir (leader) Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, as chief of its military commission. Ibrahim Sadr, who Yaqoob replaced, and Abdul Qayyum Zakir would... MORE

Introduction In recent years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has emerged as a leading producer of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms for both commercial and military use, and its technologies are being used in unprecedented ways. For example, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to... MORE

STC Gains Highlight the Need for a Succession Plan for President Hadi Brian M. Perkins Representatives from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) met with Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed in Riyadh on August 13 to discuss the creation of a new government that will... MORE

Mahatma Gandhi may never actually have said of colonized peoples that “first, the imperial authorities ignore you; then, they laugh you; then, they fight you; and then, you win”; but this observation nonetheless aptly fits Moscow’s evolving relationship with the Circassians. The Russian center had... MORE

On June 14, a U.S. drone strike in Syria’s Idlib province killed Abu al-Qassam al-Urduni, a top al-Qaeda figure who was a commander of al-Qaeda affiliate Hurras al-Din. The death of al-Urduni, a.k.a. Khalid al-Aruri, follows those of prominent al-Qaeda leaders Abu al-Khayr al-Masri and... MORE

What Will Come of Uzbek and Central Asian Militant Groups Fighting Alongside the Taliban? Brian M. Perkins As the United States has worked to finalize the peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan, persistent questions have lingered as to the degree to which the insurgency... MORE

The “tradition” of staging an annual naval parade in St. Petersburg was established by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017, and every year the show has become more extravagant. Last Sunday (July 26), Russia’s Navy Day, 46 combat ships led by the newly built frigate... MORE

Executive Summary: Major NATO nations have already begun receiving fifth generation aircraft, while some others, such as France and Germany, have preferred temporarily flying with 4.5 generation platforms in order to make a long jump directly into sixth generation airpower in the coming decades. Against... MORE

On June 26, Iraq’s Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) raided the Baghdad headquarters of Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH), an Iranian-backed militia of the security umbrella organization, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) (al-Jazeera, June 26). The CTS arrested 14 KH militants and confiscated various rockets and other weaponry... MORE