Jason Ditz

US Marines Arrive on Yemen’s Island of Socotra to Back UAE: US installs Patriot missiles on UAE-occupied island

by Jason Ditz | Mar 9, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

It’s not clear what US intentions are, but a group of US Marines arrived at the Yemeni island of Socotra over the weekend, meeting with the occupying United Arab Emirates forces, and installing Patriot missile systems there.The US hasn’t announced why they are back on Socotra, an island strategically located near the mouth of the Gulf of Aden. The UAE has been seen as wanting to keep the island after the Yemen War for a base, and there is speculation that the US has designs on a base as well.The UAE will reportedly “lease” the island for a period of 95 years. There has been no major fighting...

Envoys Gather in Doha for Signing of Afghanistan Peace Deal: Growing optimism about peace process after week of violence reduction

by Jason Ditz | Mar 2, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Representatives from dozens of countries, foreign ministers or generally envoys, have flocked to the Qatar city of Doha this weekend, for the planned Saturday signing of the Afghanistan peace deal between the US and the Taliban.After a successful week of reduction of violence, there is growing optimism about this deal. President Trump confirmed on Friday that the deal will indeed be signed, as planned.Trump indicated that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will join US negotiators in Doha to oversee the signature. Defense Secretary Mark Esper will be in Afghanistan, and will issue a joint...

Russian Airstrikes Kill at Least 34 Turkish Soldiers in Syria: Turkey’s bid to reclaim Idlib observation post sparks airstrikes

by Jason Ditz | Feb 28, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Weeks of threats by Turkish President Erdogan to retake Syria’s Idlib Province by force went extremely poorly on Thursday, when Turkish forces moved into an observation post south of Idlib City, and were immediately hammered by airstrikes from both Russia and Syria. At least 34 Turkish soldiers were reported killed in this strike, a major number of casualties. Turkey’s Hatay Governor reported casualties were still flowing into his province from Idlib. Turkey has put thousands of troops in Idlib recently, and Erdogan had promised to reclaim all 10 of the observation posts,...

Taliban: No Peace Deal If US Troops Stay in Afghanistan

by Jason Ditz | Feb 20, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Deputy leader says withdrawal is main thing the Taliban wants With a potential US-Taliban peace deal in Afghanistan potentially at hand, Taliban Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani wrote an op-ed in the New York Times clarifying exactly what the Taliban hopes to get out of the deal, what is expected and what is their red line. For a war that’s dragged on for 19 years, Taliban demands are still straightforward and easy to understand. The main goal is, as ever, the removal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, and the deal was conditioned on the US withdrawing from the country. Haqqani dismissed...

Taliban: Afghanistan Peace Deal Terms Finalized

by Jason Ditz | Feb 18, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen reported on Monday that the US and Taliban have finalized the language of the Afghanistan peace deal. The US has not confirmed this yet, but had indicated in recent days that such a deal was imminent. Afghan CEO Abdullah Abdullah confirmed the deal is finalized, saying that his understanding is that the signature depends on the success of the reduction of violence. If all goes well, the deal should be signed by all sides by the end of February. The exact language of the deal has never been public, though indications are that it was effectively finalized in...

Senate Passes Iran War Powers Resolution

by Jason Ditz | Feb 13, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

In a vote of 55-45, the Senate passed the Iran War Powers Resolution on Thursday afternoon, setting out opposition to any unauthorized war with Iran, and instructing the president not to deploy troops for such a war. Voting was heavily along party lines, with Democrats and some antiwar Republicans managing to pass the resolution in the face of mocking opposition from the Republican leadership, who insisted the resolution could never survive a Trump veto, and was a sign of weakness against Iran. The Senate Republicans supporting were Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of...

Special Inspector General: Thousands Killed in Failed Afghan Reconstruction

by Jason Ditz | Feb 12, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Warns Congress was given incomplete picture of the cost While it is well documented how poorly the Afghan War has gone, and how little has actually been built during reconstruction, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) warns Congress was given an incomplete picture of the cost. That’s because Congress was told about the financial cost of the reconstruction, a substantial amount of money that produced very little. They were not told about the very high human cost of this program, however. 2,214 people were killed overall, 216 of them American soldiers and 68...

Ukraine Officials Say US Holding Up Arms Sale

by Jason Ditz | Feb 7, 2020 | Featured Articles, Foreign Policy

Trump withholds approval for sales, Ukraine wants a refund Ukrainian officials are clearly looking to flex their muscles in the wake of being the foreign policy centerpiece of the Trump impeachment, accusing the US of holding up another $30 million worth of standard arms sales for an unknown reason. This sale is distinct from the issue in the impeachment, and only has in common the countries involved. During impeachment, US officials were hyping the vital importance of Ukraine to US policies, particularly to the policy of hostility toward Russia. That not being sufficiently pro-Ukraine was...

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Jason Ditz is the News Editor for Antiwar.com, your best source for antiwar news, viewpoints and activities. He has 10 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times and the Detroit Free Press.