France’s stalwart postwar weapon still shows up in Syria In 1957, the French army was hurting. Still reeling from the painful defeat in Indochina and the debacle of the Suez Crisis, France found itself embroiled in counterinsurgency operations in Algeria, battling the Algerian National Liberation Front for control of the country. The French armed forces’…
Category: Syrian Civil War
Crusader Corner: The ISIS Paradox, Strength in Weakness
ISIS is a terrorist group attempting to become a state. It inherited al Qaeda’s strengths, including international networks, battle tested military doctrine and strategy, and a radical religious ideology, Jihadi Salafism. The ISIS ideology has a proven record in recruiting foreign fighters worldwide to support jihadist insurgencies and terror cells. ISIS also has some competitive…
The Rise of the Hybrid Warriors: From Ukraine to the Middle East
The Iraqi Army defenders of Ramadi had held their dusty, stony ground for over a year and become familiar with the increasing adeptness of their opponents waving black flags. At first, these Iraqi Army units simply faced sprayed rifle fire, but then it was well-placed sniper rounds that forced these weary units to keep under…
Brush-Up On Your History: The Crusades and Syria
[Taken from the blog Bionic Mosquito.] The Battle for Syria Part I There ran down the edges of the desert a string of cities and their connecting road – Aleppo, Homs, Damascus…. As long as these cities remain in enemy hands, the seacoast (Lebanon and Israel) will not be secure. But this isn’t…
Crusader Corner: Europe Will Close Main Migration Route For Refugees
EU, this is Too Little, Too late I am Afraid. The damage has already been done. This is like watching your barn burn down and then when it is all ashes calling the Fire Department and screaming “Hurry! My Barn is on Fire!!” No, Europe deserves what it gets I am sorry to say. The…
Iranian Basij Fighting Forces Bolster the Assad Regime in Syria
This fanatical Para-Military Volunteer pipeline stretches from Tehran to Damascus Tehran downplays its presence in Syria, but its volunteers are hard to hide. The most obvious clue as to their presence is the fact that Iranian troops have died in the conflict, including high-profile commanders such as Brig. Gen. Hossein Hamedani of the Iranian Revolutionary…