On October 15th, 2016, the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov set sail from is Kola Bay shipyard (Russian Shipyard #10) bound for the Mediterranean Sea on a mission to supplement Russian assets deployed to Syria with additional firepower and a bit of morale. The carrier, launched in 1985, had never before seen combat, and the mission was supposed […]

The following list is designed to help readers understand the value and worth of the United Nations to many millions of people around the world. The organization is imperfect at best, but the list is still illuminating. United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) Location: Morocco, Sahrawi Republic (Western Sahara) Established: 29 April 1991 […]

Below is a list of attacks and incidents involving non-state terror/insurgent groups worldwide between 1-31 January 2017 January 1 Location:   Bilda, Algeria Type: Bombing  Casualties: 1 killed, 7 injured Attacker: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Location:  Istanbul, Turkey Type: 2017 Istanbul Nightclub Shooting  Casualties: 39 killed, 70 injured Attacker: Daesh Location:  Najaf, Iraq Type: Bombing/Attack Casualties: 7 police + 3 attackers killed, 17 police […]

In light of the recent comments made by the current US president, Donald Trump, with regards to the number of “unspoken” terror attacks that have taken place, I have decided to publish my working list of Daesh-related terror attacks for 2016. The list only includes attacks that either A) killed more than 5 people in […]

Natalia Estemirova was a prominent human rights activist in Russia, one who worked closely with issues related to the Russian wars in Chechnya. In today’s trying times, it is important to remember those who have sacrificed greatly in the name of transparency, equality, and accountability. The following will not do her life justice and is […]

  In an effort to help people better understand the value, the necessity, and the utility of the United Nations, this series will outline the basic details of every United Nations peacekeeping mission from the organization’s inception until present-day. Part I: Africa United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) Location: Democratic Republic of the Congo Duration: July […]

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) can trace its lineage back decades before the United Nations itself existed.  The idea of a small, elite council of major powers making security-related decisions on behalf of the greater world community is an idea based in the League of Nations, which was born out of the ashes of […]

This Syrian T-55 looks more ready to retake the Golan Heights circa 1967 than engage in modern mechanized combat. One of the reasons the Syrian civil war has been so destructive and violent is the utter amount of surplus military hardware that was kicking around the country. The last semi-accurate report by IISS stated that […]

Republic of Iraq   History Humans have settled in what is now Iraq for thousands of years. Modern-day Iraq, however, is a much more recent entity, formally declaring independence from Great Britain in 1932. Previously the country had been part of the Ottoman Empire, but with the collapse of the Ottomans in WWI the land […]