Anti-Militia Media Outlet Claims Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades Building Own ‘Drugs Empire’ To Fund Operations, Increase Influence; Set To Join IRGC-Lebanese Hizbullah Monopoly Of Region’s Drug Trade

On January 21, 2024, “Al-Anbar Al-Yawm,” a media outlet which opposes Iran-backed militias in Iraq, shared a report by a news outlet, “Iraq Eye,” detailing how the Iran-backed Iraqi Hizbullah Brigades militia is building its own “drug empire” in Iraq with the help of Lebanese Hizbullah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The aim, according to “Iraq Eye,” is to monopolize the drug trade in the region.[1]

America Is Planning to Withdraw From Syria—and Create a Disaster

The Islamic State has regained its momentum, and the Biden administration might inadvertently give it another boost.

Since Hamas’s brutal attack against Israel on Oct. 7 and the resulting Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip, tensions and hostilities across the Middle East have reached fever pitch. And with such a complex regional crisis playing out, it should not come as a surprise that the Biden administration is reconsidering its military priorities in the region.

Cairo Warns Against Israeli Operation on Egypt-Gaza Border

Latest Developments

Cairo warned Jerusalem on January 22 that an Israeli operation along Egypt’s border with Gaza would present a “serious threat” to Egypt-Israel relations and cross a “red line.” The Egyptian government made the threat in response to reports that Israel may be preparing a military operation to secure the 8.7-mile land route — an area known as the Philadelphi Corridor — and destroy the network of illicit Hamas tunnels that connect Egypt and Gaza.

Belligerents or Criminals? Terrorism in a World Without Peaceful Redress

On the face of things, the issue seems fairly simple and straightforward. Terrorism is bad, even horrific. The killing or harming of innocents is morally wrong and indefensible, no matter what the circumstances. Since the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians, Israeli officials have denounced the terrorists in no uncertain terms. “We are fighting human animals,” declared Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Where do you go from there?

U.S. Strikes Iranian-Backed Group in Response to Attacks in Iraq

Latest Developments

U.S. forces carried out airstrikes on Kataib Hezbollah on January 24 in response to the Iranian-backed group’s targeting of American troops in Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah conducted rocket and ballistic missile attacks on Al-Asad base in western Iraq on January 20, injuring four U.S. service members. U.S. Central Command said that the strikes on January 24 targeted “three facilities used by Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq.” The facilities included a headquarters for Kataib Hezbollah, a storage location, as well as an area used by the group to train with missiles and drones.

20 Constructive Critiques Of Russia’s Special Operation

Calmly acknowledging setbacks and sharing constructive critiques afterwards aligns with the spirit of what President Putin suggested earlier in the summer when he advised against indulging in wishful thinking. Nobody who sincerely supports this newly restored world power and its de facto leadership of the Global Revolutionary Movement in the New Cold War could in good conscience eschew their moral responsibility to encourage Russia’s self-improvement through these well-intended means.

Serbia’s Authoritarian (Re)turn

The conduct of Serbia’s latest elections points to the country’s democratic decline. The EU cannot stay neutral in the face of President Vucic’s provocations and authoritarian tendencies.

There is a certain back-to-the-future quality to Serbia. One would think that the country has long moved on from the lows of the 1990s. However, the feeling among at least some Serbs is that the clock has been turned back to the era of former president and strongman Slobodan Milošević.

Deux actions clés de l’Iran : Bombarder le centre d’espionnage du Mossad à Erbil (région kurde de l’Irak) et s’allier avec l’Inde

Après l’Ukraine, les «sept fronts» d’Israël (Gallant dixit, ministre de la défense) ont atteint de nouveaux sommets lorsque les Gardiens de la révolution islamique d’Iran (CGRI) ont lancé de manière inattendue des missiles balistiques de représailles sur des cibles situées dans la capitale provinciale kurde d’Erbil, dans le nord de l’Irak, où le centre d’espionnage offshore du Mossad israélien a été touché, ainsi qu’en Syrie.

In deadliest incident of Gaza combat, 21 soldiers killed as buildings collapse in blast

Explosion possibly caused by Palestinian RPG attack as IDF prepared structures for demolition using explosives, with nearby tank hit by a missile; death toll in ground op reaches 219

Twenty-one Israeli soldiers were killed Monday when they came under attack in the southern Gaza Strip, triggering a blast that collapsed two buildings with soldiers inside them, the military said Tuesday morning.