In a desperate move to head off the armed conflict, representatives of the two Muslim nations will meet to discuss freedom-of-navigation issues in the Abdullah waterway between the two countries. The countries’ shared land border was demarcated by the United Nations in 1993 after Iraq’s invasion of the oil-producing nation, but it did not cover the length of their maritime …

In the wake of a major summit meeting between the United States, Japan, and South Korea, which strengthened ties between these nations, China is trying to cut in on the dance floor. Beijing viewed that meeting in Camp David as a means of raising an attempt by the U.S. to increase the pressure against China at a time of intensifying …

A tentative, bilateral agreement between the United States and Kenya would send troops from the East African nation to Haiti and additional American military support to Kenya. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Kenya’s Defense Minister Aden Duale signed the accord at a meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The agreement guides the countries’ defense relations for the next five …

The federal government agreed to reimburse Guam for most of the $56 million it spent cleaning up a World War II/Vietnam War-era toxic waste dump. The settlement represents the U.S. government’s “fair share of remediation costs” for Ordot Dump, a 23-acre landfill opened prior to World War II and operated by the military for decades before being passed to the …

For the first time ever, a rail line will connect longtime frenemies Iraq and Iran. Conductors might yell “All aboard!” by the end of 2024. Builders will lay a little over eighteen miles of track between Iraq’s southern city of Basra and the Iranian border town of Shalamja, linking nations with ties that have deepened since the 2003 U.S. invasion …

Protesters recently took to the streets in Sweida, a southern province with a mostly Druze population that has remained securely in government hands throughout the civil war. Syria is in a deep economic crisis that saw its currency plunge to a record 15,500 Syrian pounds to the dollar last week in a rapidly accelerating free-fall. It traded at 47 pounds …

Predictably, festivities marking the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Naval base on Diego Garcia focused on the base’s strategic importance instead of its controversial past. “For 50 years, the Master-at-Arms rate has upheld a tradition of high standards of conduct, courtesy, and military excellence,” said Master-at-Arms 1st Class Andrew Bourdier, president of the MA ball committee, during the opening ceremony …

President Joe Biden marked the one-year anniversary of the PACT Act, a law that is personal to him, during a speech in Utah. Biden spoke to veterans at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City to highlight the one-year anniversary of the PACT Act, which has already provided 4.1 million veterans with free …

Surplus equipment that the United States and other countries send to Ukraine might be battle-ready earlier if one retired Army officer gets his way. As a private citizen over the past year, Vindman watched the slow Russian buildup along Ukraine’s borders and, he said, became concerned about how Kyiv would support and sustain a long conflict. Vindman and his twin …

All five major types of combat-related military contractors play prominent roles in the DoD’s worldwide strategy. All five kinds are in demand. In 2022, the DoD paid private military contractors over $400 billion, which is more than a third of its budget.  Private military contractors play diverse roles and serve in diverse places. During the Iraq War, contractors often fought …

Once again, Qatar’s foreign ministry has gone beyond the borders of this Gulf Coast country in an attempt to resolve a regional crisis that could become an international crisis. Speaking during a media briefing held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha, Majed bin Mohammed Al-Ansari highlighted Qatar’s involvement in facilitating constructive dialogue between Iran and the international community. …

Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Dustin W. Cammack said that four prisoners diagnosed with COVID-19 are “experiencing minor symptoms and are improving.” Two of the prisoners who tested positive were identified by people with knowledge of the situation as defendants in death penalty cases: Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of plotting the suicide bombing of the destroyer Cole in 2000, …