Syrian Troops Enter Northeast Syria to Try to Resist Turkish Invasion

Following a weekend deal with the Kurdish YPG to assume defensive responsibility for the cities of Manbij and Kobane, the Syrian Army has rushed northward into the area, setting up defensive positions for a pending Turkish invasion.

The ability of the Syrian government to get into the area was hindered by US military forces who are nominally withdrawing from the area. Reports are that the US launched multiple airstrikes against pro-government forces in the area.

— By Jason Ditz

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Endless Afghanistan:

War Without Justification

"Farm boys with guns." That’s how then Captain Sjursen described average Taliban fighters while serving in Kandahar province. I was speaking to a Reuters reporter that shadowed me for a few days – since I was a New Yorker – to mark the then 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks way back in 2011. Much to the chagrin of my commanders, I was just frustrated enough, and had buried just enough troopers to give the reporter a real story. "When I see this place, I don’t see the [Twin] Towers," I’d said when asked about the connection between 9/11 and my own mission in Afghanistan during the Obama "surge." I was right then, but even now, eight more years into America’s longest war, the same old tired arguments are trotted out to justify perpetual military intervention.

— By Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)

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US to Send 3,000 Troops, Warplanes to Saudi Arabia to Confront Iran

Following news that an Iranian oil tanker was attacked with missiles off the coast of Saudi Arabia, the US has announced that they will send 3,000 ground troops and two squadrons of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to “confront” Iran.

Though the timing of this seems fairly obviously linked to the missile incident, Pentagon officials made no mention that it even happened, instead citing last month’s drone attack on Saudi oil refineries, which Yemen’s Houthis claimed credit for but the US blamed on Iran.

— By Jason Ditz

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Trump Defends Green Beret Who Killed Unarmed Afghan

President Trump came under fire after tweeting on Saturday about Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, a former Green Beret who is on trial for killing an unarmed Afghan man in 2010.

— By Dave DeCamp

Wake-Up Call On The Syrian Border: Time To End Washington’s Feckless Regime Change Policy and NATO, Too

Syria has been turned into the most wretched of neighborhoods on the planet by Washington’s neocons and liberal interventionists. From its pre-2011 population of 23 million, more than 6.7 million have fled to countries such as Lebanon (1 million), Jordan (700,000), Turkey (3.6 million), Europe and elsewhere.

— By David Stockman

George W. Bush Is Not Your Republican Friend With Whom You Respectfully Disagree

Earlier this week, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres gave a monologue justifying the time she spent with George W. Bush at a football game. In response to some outrage and annoyance over their friendly association, DeGeneres said a lot of very nice, very hollow words about disagreements not ruining friendships. All of this was fit for your hypothetical Republican or hawkish friend or neighbor, and none of it applied to a man who started two wars abroad, and built a strong foundation for spying and militarization at home.

— By Lucy Steigerwald