NYTIMES (Christina Goldbaum) - Lebanon’s Efforts to Tame Hezbollah Stall Amid Israel War
President Joseph Aoun took office with a popular mandate to reassert control after the militant group dragged the country back into war with Israel.
NYTIMES (Abdi Latif Dahir and David Guttenfelder) - What Life Is Like in Dahiya Amid a Hezbollah-Israel Truce in Lebanon
Dahiya, a sprawling area and Hezbollah stronghold, is stirring back to life amid a tense truce with Israel. “This war has brought so much loss,” one resident said.
NYTIMES (David M. Halbfinger) - How Hezbollah Drones Upended Israel’s Strategy in Lebanon
An Israeli campaign that started with high hopes has devolved into a kind of impasse, with Hezbollah looking more capable than it did when the war began.
AXIOS (Barak Ravid) - U.S. push for Lebanon ceasefire stalls as Israel eyes Beirut strikes
The latest U.S. push for a ceasefire in Lebanon has fizzled just as Israel is expanding its ground invasion and seeking a U.S. green light to conduct massive strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, sources tell Axios. Why it matters: The U.S. has urged Israel against striking Beirut for several weeks as part of a broader deescalation push, but a U.S. official hinted that position could soften. "The U.S. does not expect Israel to absorb ongoing attacks on its civilians by a terrorist organization," the official told Axios. The big picture: The Trump administration's deescalation effort in Lebanon has been partially motivated by its desire to reach a deal with Iran. - The memorandum of understanding the U.S. and Iran are negotiating …
THEAMERICANCONSERVATIVE (Ivan Eland) - Is the U.S. Capable of Being Cautious About Foreign Interventions?
American adversaries have learned how to outlast the U.S. The post Is the U.S. Capable of Being Cautious About Foreign Interventions? appeared first on The American Conservative .
Foreign Affairs Is the U.S. Capable of Being Cautious About Foreign Interventions? American adversaries have learned how to outlast the U.S. (Photo by Cpl. Francisco J. Diaz Jr./U.S. Marine Corps via Getty Images) The United States loves to remember the Second World War and the Gulf War, because they resulted in the United States smashing the huge conventional armies of diabolical adversaries such as Adolf Hitler, the Imperial Japanese, and the former American ally Saddam Hussein. Yet most recent U.S. wars haven’t gone all that well. Although the outcome of the Korean War against countries using conventional…Open
CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY (Sam Faddis) - Guerrilla war at sea
Originally posted by AND Magazine
We have been told that the Iranian Navy has been destroyed. In a conventional sense, that is true. Unfortunately, this is not a conventional war. The Iranians are now employing swarms of speedboats to attack commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf. These boats don’t stand much of a chance against the U.S. Navy. They are, unfortunately, a real threat to large unarmed merchant vessels. Many of the boats in question are modified commercial or even recreational vessels. A number, however, were purpose-built for military use. They operate at high speed, have shallow drafts, low radar signatures, and good maneuverability. No one knows how many of these vessels there are. Some estimates are in the thousands. What we know for sure, though, is…Open
NPR (Lauren Frayer) - A Hezbollah commander describes battling Israel in Lebanon
In a rare interview, a wounded Hezbollah commander tells NPR about his secretive Shia Muslim militia's new command structure and how it has managed to keep firing rockets into northern Israel.
NYTIMES (Christopher Maag) - Guerrilla Battle Over Padlocks and Tourist Trash on the Brooklyn Bridge
Love Locks left behind were one thing. But when actual garbage (like tampons and condoms) started appearing, a righteous quest to remove it was born.
AXIOS (Barak Ravid) - Lebanon asks U.S. for direct peace talks with Israel to end fighting
The Lebanese government proposed direct negotiations with Israel — through the Trump administration — aimed at ending the war and reaching a peace agreement, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter. - Both the U.S. and Israeli responses were cool and deeply skeptical, the sources said. Why it matters: Lebanon's government is extremely alarmed that the renewed war, triggered by Hezbollah's decision to launch rockets at Israel , will devastate the country. - So far, the Lebanese army has refused to take meaningful action against the Iran-backed militant group. - And with Washington uninterested in mediating and Israel determined to use the moment to dismantle Hezbollah, a full-scale escalation appears increasingly…
NYTIMES (Elian Peltier) - No Clear Endgame in the Conflict Between Afghanistan and Pakistan
Pakistan’s airstrikes in Afghanistan showed its overwhelming superiority in conventional warfare, but the Taliban have refined a lethal repertoire of guerrilla tactics.