By William Tucker

The Syrian conflict has been anything but linear. With a fragmented opposition lacking a formal command and control structure coordinating forces fighting against an entrenched regime backed by Iran and Hezbollah it is hard to imagine that the war would be linear. This is a greater problem for the rebels than it is for the government as the opposition is forced to use creative methods to acquire supplies.

By William Tucker

The U.S. has been active in North Africa for quite some time – much of it related to the war on terror and the ensuing chaos in Libya – but the superpower has not yet managed to establish a significant, permanent presence. Currently, many U.S. operations are run from Djibouti and assorted forward operating bases scattered across the continent.

By William Tucker

The U.S. State Department has designated the Syrian Al-Nousra Front as a foreign terrorist organization, and as such, has applied sanctions to the group. In the time that Al-Nousra has come to international attention it has reportedly carried out 600 attacks with many occurring against civilian targets. The methodology of attacks the State Department calls out vary.

By William Tucker

Pentagon spokesman George Little recently stated that Iranian aircraft recently fired on a U.S. predator drone operating in international waters near the Kuwaiti-Iranian border. The unmanned aircraft came under fire as it was conducting a routine surveillance mission in the crowded area of the northern Persian Gulf by two Su-25 Frogfoot fighter aircraft operated by the Iran Revolutionary Guard Air Force.

By William Tucker

Late last week the Miami Herald ran a story claiming that Fidel Castro, the long time leader of Cuba, had suffered a massive stroke and was left in a vegetative state. The report quoted the same Venezuelan doctor, Jose Rafael Marquina, who had made inaccurate statements regarding Castro’s health in the past. As the title of this article would suggest, this is not the first time Fidel has been declared dead.

By William Tucker

Guinea has agreed to release a shipment of military arms bound for Mali following an inspection by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The arms shipment was held up because ECOWAS was still mediating in the crisis between the Malian military and the civilian government. The transfer of power to a new unity government back in August helped clear the way for international assistance.

By William Tucker

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that Washington had sent additional troops to the Jordan-Syria border to assist in the management of refugees and to monitor the status of Syria’s chemical weapons. The U.S. has had a troop presence in Jordan for some time and this additional deployment shouldn’t be construed as a build up towards military intervention in Syria.

By William Tucker

Over the past weekend there were several interesting pieces in the media regarding Iran. Siemens, a German engineering firm, was accused by Tehran of sabotaging equipment destined for Iran with explosives. Naturally, the Iranian government did not state where the Siemens equipment was coming from. Because of the current sanctions regime sales of certain equipment to Iran is prohibited. Iran then claimed to have discovered a listening device.

By William Tucker

In a preplanned protest, members of the more radical factions of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo. The protesters removed the U.S. flag and returned to the outside of the compound. Because the protest was advertised in advance, most embassy employees were sent home beforehand. Embassy guards did fire warning volleys into the air to disperse the protesters.