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☆ A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would depend on seizing its ports. That won't be easy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-01 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AdvertisementA Chinese invasion of Taiwan must focus on seizing a port to bring in tanks and supplies. Related Video China shows how it would attack Taiwan as tensions riseAs it contemplates an invasion of Taiwan, China is well aware of this problem. And beach assaults like D-Day come with the risk that Taiwanese troops could bottle up the attackers. Once it is captured, Chinese forces will dig in to resist a counterattack, while engineers repair the docks and clear the shipping lanes. In the end, the fate of an invasion of Taiwan turns on which side controls the ports.

Persons: Ian Easton, Easton, Horatio Nelson, Michael Peck Organizations: China Maritime Studies, US Naval War, Army, People's Liberation Army, Getty, PLA, Communist Party, Taiwan, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Taiwan, China, Easton, AFP, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Mailiao, Taipei, Dieppe, France, Normandy, Brest, Cherbourg, Forbes

☆ Iran has developed fentanyl-based chemical weapons
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-10 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

These chemical weapons affect a victim's central nervous system. AdvertisementIran has developed chemical weapons based on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, warns a US expert, powerful agents that could incapacitate soldiers or civilians when added to grenades or artillery. (The US, in contrast, completed the destruction of its chemical weapons in 2023.) Nonetheless, chemical weapons do have a frightening aura, even if fentanyl gas is nowhere near as deadly as nerve gas. "I think that many, many people would see it that way because you're talking about chemical weapons," Levitt said.

Persons: —, Iran's, Matthew Levitt, Levitt, they've, Iran —, Hossein University, Israel, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Pharmaceutical, PBA, Combatting Terrorism, The U.S, Government, Washington Institute, Convention, Iran's Chemistry Department, IHU, Department, State Department, Commandos, CTC, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Iran, West, The, Iraq, Israel, Syrian, —, Iranian, Moscow, Vietnam, Tehran, Galilee, Lebanon, Forbes

☆ Ukraine fooled Russia with the same deceptions Germany used at WWII's Battle of the Bulge
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-02 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The question for Ukraine is whether Kursk will fare better than Germany's Battle of the Bulge. AdvertisementWhen Ukraine unleashed its Kursk offensive in August, it wasn't just the Russians who were surprised. By massing forces for offensives in eastern Ukraine, this thinned out the rest of the 600-mile front line, including the Kursk region. For example, "Ukraine's military announced the 61st Mechanized Brigade would be moving to Vovchansk, a city in the northern sector of the fighting in eastern Ukraine," said TRADOC. Allied cryptographers had broken high-level German radio codes (the "Ultra" program), but German forces employed radio silence, and orders were conveyed by courier and telephone.

Persons: —, TRADOC, Hitler, Oleksandr Syrskyi, wouldn't, Ukraine prepped, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, US, Kremlin, British, Armed Forces of, 61st Mechanized Brigade, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kursk, Germany, Normandy, Ardennes, Belgium, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Nazi, Moscow, Forbes

☆ A string of failures ended with 2 Navy SEALs drowning on a dangerous mission to intercept smuggled weapons, investigation finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Two US Navy SEALs drowned during a January raid on a vessel smuggling weapons to the Houthis. A new investigation outlines a string of failures that led to that fatal outcome. AdvertisementTwo US Navy SEALs drowned during a raid to intercept smuggled weapons off the coast of Somalia earlier this year. An investigation found that their deaths were preventable and were ultimately caused by a string of failures in the lead-up to the dangerous mission. Their names were redacted in the investigation, but the Navy has already identified them as the two SEALs who died.

Persons: —, Christopher Chambers, Nathan Gage Ingram, Adm, George M, Lewis B, Puller, Chambers, Ingram, Michael Kurilla Organizations: US Navy, Service, US Naval Forces Central Command, Command, US, Navy, Special Warfare, Warfare, Tactical Locations: Somalia, Iran, Yemen, Gulf of Aden

Hanging over all of this for Charbel — as well as the relatively small contingent of Israeli critics of the escalation with Hezbollah — is the fear that history will repeat itself. Israeli invasions in both 1982 and 2006 became more expansive and deadly than how they had been initially framed. 'Strategic failure'Israel’s ground operation was met with a new wave of international concern and condemnation. But the Biden administration remains concerned the mission could expand, the administration official said. Thousands of Israeli troops and tanks crossed the border, culminating in a deadly siege of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Persons: —, Michael A, Horowitz, Israel, Biden Organizations: Le Beck, NBC News, London School of Economics, National Security, Palestine Liberation Organization, Lebanese Christian Locations: States, Washington, Israel, Lebanon, Cairo, Beirut, Sabra

☆ Israeli commandos raid Lebanon — the latest sign Netanyahu is ignoring Biden's warnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rapidly escalating Israel's campaign against its regional foes and trampling on US diplomatic efforts in the process. In the latest sign he's ignoring US warnings, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli special-operations forces were carrying out raids into southern Lebanon as the possibility of a ground incursion this week loomed. Getty Images"We are shocked," one US official told CNN after Netanyahu rejected the cease-fire proposal before Israel launched its attacks. It's the latest instance of the Israeli leader ignoring or rejecting Biden's attempts to restrain Israeli military action in Gaza and, more recently, Lebanon.

Persons: Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Amir Avivi, Avivi, Fateh Sherif Abu el, Amin, Hezbollah's, Hassan Nasrallah, Israel's, Joe Biden, Gilbert Achcar, Jasmine El, Obama, He's, Netanyahu, Israel, Nasrallah, he's, Richard Dannatt, hadn't, Dannatt, It's, Sarah Leah Whitson, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, Blinken Organizations: Service, Street Journal, IDF, Hamas, SOAS University of London, US Marine Corps, Getty, CNN, Israel, British, East, Sky News, Foreign Relations, Political, Military Affairs, United Nations, White Locations: Israel, Lebanon, Beirut, Iran, Gaza, France

☆ Newly released photos capture British commandos and American forces hunting down a narco-sub carrying $209 million of cocaine in the Caribbean
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewBritish and American forces recently intercepted a drug-smuggling narco-sub carrying millions of dollars worth of Cocaine in the Caribbean Sea. Military photos show the bust, which was the first time the Royal Navy had ever intercepted a narco-sub. The Trent team has seized over 20,000 pounds of drugs in the past eight months, valued at almost $1 billion. AdvertisementThe Trent team is now the best hunter of smugglers in the Royal Navy this century. Related storiesAfter the Royal Navy and US Coast Guard retrieved the drugs, they brought them aboard for inspection.

Persons: —, HMS, clambered, Tim Langford, HMS Trent's, Simon Doran, Kevin Ray J, Salvador Organizations: Service, American, Royal Navy, Business, US Coast Guard personnel, American Coast Guard, Royal Marine commandos, Trent, Royal, USCG, US Coast Guard, US Marine Corps, Marine Corps, Corps, . Marine Corps Locations: Caribbean, HMS Trent, Dominican Republic

☆ Russia Quashes Deadly Prison Mutiny by Islamist Inmates
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | Oleg Matsnev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Russian commandos quashed a mutiny at a southern Russian prison on Friday, killing the attackers and freeing their hostages, according to the local governor. Inmates claiming to be motivated by radical Islam and armed with makeshift knives and an explosive vest briefly took control of Penal Colony No. 19 in the southern Volgograd region, according to videos posted on social media and verified by The New York Times. The Russian prison service said four guards had been killed and three injured in the attack. Four of the attackers were killed by snipers as the Russian commandos stormed the prison late Friday afternoon, ending the mutiny.

Persons: ”, Andrei Bocharov Organizations: Penal, The New York Times, Russian, IK Locations: Volgograd

☆ China's naval commandos rode electric skateboards into a combat exercise with drones disguised as birds, then left in a pickup truck
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese state TV showed armed commandos riding electric skateboards in a combat exercise. The naval special forces also deployed drones designed to flap like an eagle and a sparrow. Go to newsletter preferences Thanks for signing up! download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementChina's special forces showcased electric skateboards, jet surfboards, and other gadgets in a combat demonstration televised on Thursday.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, China Military TV, Nanchang Infantry Academy, Jiaolong Commandos, Business Locations: Jiangxi

They hide under residential neighborhoods, storing their weapons in miles of tunnels and in houses, mosques, sofas — even a child’s bedroom — blurring the boundary between civilians and combatants. They emerge from hiding in plainclothes, sometimes wearing sandals or tracksuits before firing on Israeli troops, attaching mines to their vehicles, or firing rockets from launchers in civilian areas. They rig abandoned homes with explosives and tripwires, sometimes luring Israeli soldiers to enter the booby-trapped buildings by scattering signs of a Hamas presence. Through eight months of fighting in Gaza, Hamas’s military wing — the Qassam Brigades — has fought as a decentralized and largely hidden force, in contrast to its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which began with a coordinated large-scale maneuver in which thousands of uniformed commandos surged through border towns and killed roughly 1,200 people.

Persons: — Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ After Weeks of Planning, Seconds Made the Difference in Israeli Hostage Rescue
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Bilal Shbair | Ronen Bergman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the four Israelis woke up in Gaza on Saturday, they had been held hostage by Hamas for 245 days. The buildings in which they were being kept, two low-rise, concrete apartment blocks, looked much like the other nearby residences in a civilian neighborhood full of Palestinian families. Within a few hours, the captives, three men and one woman, would be reunited with their own families, the result of a risky, long-planned rescue operation in which the full might of the Israeli military would be used to devastating effect. “I’m so emotional,” one hostage, Noa Argamani, 26, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in a phone call after her release. “It’s been so long since I heard Hebrew.”The rescue effort in Nuseirat involved hundreds of intelligence officers and two teams of commandos who simultaneously stormed the homes in which the hostages were being held, the Israeli military said.

Persons: “, Noa Argamani, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, “ It’s Locations: Gaza

☆ King Charles travels to mark D-Day anniversary while Prince William takes greater role
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Max Foster | Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

On Thursday morning, King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the UK Ministry of Defence and the Royal British Legion’s commemorative event at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer. King Charles and Queen Camilla were joined by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at the British Normandy Memorial. Corbis/Getty Images British troops reach the shore in the early morning. Germans rained mortars and artillery down on Allied troops, killing many before they could even get out of their boats. U.S. Army Injured American soldiers wait to be moved to a field hospital after storming Omaha Beach.

Persons: CNN — Britain’s King Charles III, –, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Charles, Emmanuel Macron, Brigitte Macron, Chris Jackson, “, ” Charles, King George VI, ”, Robert F, Sargent, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Ed Jackson, Samuel Chase, Clarence Shoop, FPG, —, Jeffrey Markowitz, Adolf Hitler, Holmes, King, Macron, Joe Biden –, Prince William, Prince, Wales, King William V’s, Richard Rohmer, France Gabriel Attal, Justin Trudeau, Jordan Pettitt, William, Camilla Organizations: CNN’s Royal, CNN, Omaha Beach, UK Ministry of Defence, Royal British, Royal British Legion, Trust, French, Getty, Army's 50th Infantry Division, Museum, NY, British Royal Navy, Coast Guard, Troops, Lockheed, US Air Force, Allied, Normandy, AP, U.S . Army Signal Corps, Getty Images, Reuters, Canadian, Omaha, Bilderwelt, Channel, US Coast Guard, Hulton, Nazi, U.S . Army Injured, National, Keystone, Fox, 6th Airborne, Images, US, Juno Beach Locations: Normandy, Omaha, Ver, Mer, United Kingdom, France, Utah, New York, United States, Omaha Beach, England, Hulton, Corbis, Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Poland, AFP, American, British, FPG, Courseulles, Canadian, Portsmouth, England’s

☆ The D-Day Battle France Chose to Forget. Until Now.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Catherine Porter | Ségolène Le Stradic | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Some 170 miles southwest of the celebrated landing beaches in Normandy, the remains of a D-Day site few visit peek out from behind trees in rural Brittany. Among them were French army commandos parachuted in to block the Nazis from sending reinforcements to the beaches. But before the operation could be put into full swing, the camp was discovered by the Nazis and destroyed. Dozens of fighters were hunted down and killed. In retribution, most buildings in the surrounding area were burned and hundreds of locals were executed.

Persons: Marcel Maquis — Organizations: Saint, BBC Locations: Normandy, Brittany

☆ What We Know About the Helicopter Crash That Killed Iran’s President
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The deaths of Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, and foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in a helicopter crash have left one of the Middle East’s most powerful and disruptive nations at a critical moment. Here’s a look at what we know about the crash and its potential implications. Mr. Raisi, 63, and Mr. Amir Abdollahian were traveling back from Iran’s border with Azerbaijan after inaugurating a joint dam project when their helicopter went down in a remote and mountainous area around 1 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to state media. Search and rescue teams battled rain and heavy fog to scour the mountains and dense forest for more than 10 hours, looking for the crash site. The authorities called off the aerial search at one point because of the weather, dispatching elite commandos of the Revolutionary Guards and others on foot.

Persons: Ebrahim Raisi, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Raisi, Amir Abdollahian Organizations: Revolutionary Guards Locations: Iran’s, Azerbaijan

☆ US Air Force's F-22 Raptors lost to German Eurofighters in mock dogfights, but the verdict on the superior jet isn't as simple
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets fly during a media day. Piroschka van de Wouw/ReutersDespite their generational differences, the F-22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon actually have a number of things in common. A German air force Eurofighter Typhoon taxis toward the runway at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska before departing for a combat-training mission, June 11, 2012. So what's the verdict between the F-22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon? A composite image showing a German air force Eurofighter Typhoon jet and a US Air Force F-22 Raptor.

Persons: …, Valerie R, David Cenciotti's, Piroschka van de Wouw, it's, Randy Gordon, Sam Eckholm, doesn't, Rich Wells, Thomas Wiegold, John P, Michael Holzworth, It's, Marc Gruene, haven't, Gruene, isn't, Jens Stoltenberg, Bernd Wüstneck, Eurofighters, Chris Jung, That's, Eric Wicklund, Erich Hartmann, He's, Alex Muller, Andreas Pfeiffer, who's, Thomas Bergeson, Wade Tolliver, we're, Dirk Smith, Mike, Bertie Simmonds, Micheal Jordan, Chesty Puller Organizations: Service, EA, German Eurofighter Typhoons, Business, Eurofighter, Spangdahlem Air Base, US Air Force, Tactical Air Force, America's Raptors, BFM, Germany's Eurofighter, Farnborough, Air, Germany's, German Air Force Eurofighter, Reuters, Typhoon, MIT, RAF, Breaking Defense, AIM, Air Force, Staff, Raptors, Eielson Air Force Base, Tech, Germany's Air Force, Combat Aircraft, TVC, Raptor, NATO, Tactical Air, Getty, Typhoons, Seoul International Aerospace, Defense, Eurofighters, 4th, US Navy, KC, Red Flag, Navy SEAL, ISIS, Qaeda, Flag, FS, Eurofighter Typhoon Locations: Germany, Alaska, Red, Estonia, Vietnam, Flag Alaska, gun's, American

☆ Opinion: Unable to ‘win’ in Gaza, Israel sets its sights elsewhere
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Opinion Hussein Ibish | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —An eerie relative calm has descended on the Middle East — Gaza obviously excluded — since a highly alarming exchange of missile, rocket and drone attacks by Israel and Iran in recent weeks. Now, the recent exchange of direct military attacks with Iran might have sealed Lebanon’s fate, unless team Biden can restrain Israel. On April 1, Israel struck an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, killing a number of senior Iranian officials including Brig. As Israel’s forces moved south through Gaza, obliterating Hamas brigades with relative ease, its thinking relatively quickly turned north again. If this happens, a primary US goal regarding the Gaza war — conflict containment — would be shattered not by Washington’s adversaries, but ironically by its closest regional partner.

Persons: Hussein Ibish, Read, Biden, Israel, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, Haji Rahimi, Hossein Amirollah, Louai Beshara, Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Charbel Mallo, Israel —, Joe Biden Organizations: Gulf States Institute, Israel, CNN, Biden, Hezbollah, Brig, Iran’s, Quds Force, Getty, Iranian, Israeli Locations: Washington, East, Gaza, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Iranian, Damascus, Brig, Syria, AFP, Tehran, United States, Kafr Kila, Lebanese

☆ Opinion: Watch carefully what Putin does next
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Literally and figuratively, Putin was telling Russians — who would soon vote in a presidential election — that he was the man to protect them. Once in office, attack after attack gave him the pretext to dismantle democracy brick by brick. Once in office, attack after attack gave him the pretext to dismantle democracy brick by brick. Patrushev, incidentally, now heads the national security council, and as I recently wrote, is a possible successor to Putin. The terrorist attack was a glaring failure by the president and his regime.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Boris Yeltsin, Putin, —, ”, Yeltsin, Nikolai Patrushev, Alexander Litvinenko, Denis Sinyakov, Moscow’s, beholden, Oleg Nikishin, Crocus Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Frida Ghitis CNN, Crocus City Hall, ISIS, Putin, FSB, European Court, Human Rights, Kremlin, Chechen, Getty Locations: Crocus, Moscow, Ukraine, Washington, Chechnya, Russian, Ryazan, AFP, Russia, Beslan, ”

☆ What the US Army should learn from Ukraine's hasty retreat from a Russian assault
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

And it should be a wake-up call for the US Army, which could find itself in the same situation, according to a US Army intelligence officer. With the potential for large-scale ground operations against well-armed Chinese or Russian forces, it's a topic that the US military cannot afford to neglect. The Ukrainian retreat suffered from poor coordination between the 110th Mechanized Brigade that had been defending the city, and the newly arrived 3rd Assault Brigade that was supposed to cover the 110th's withdrawal. The other lesson of Avdiivka is ensuring adequate support for a retreat, especially for the covering force that screens the withdrawal of the rest of the army. AdvertisementTo their credit, and despite a lack of ammunition, Ukrainian commanders were able to provide some fire support for the retreat.

Persons: It's, Ryan Forte, —, Forte, Corbis, Avdiivka wasn't, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, US Army, Business, Modern, Institute, 3rd Assault Brigade, Zenit, US, Union Army, Army, Marine Corps, 110th Mechanized Brigade, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Avdiivka, West, Donetsk, Russian, Russia, Moscow, Tunisia, Bull, Korean, America, Korea, Ukrainian, Forbes

☆ With eyes on China, US special operators are back to battling the jungle
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

With the potential for a conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific looming ever larger in the background, the US special operations community is focusing more and more on jungle operations. A Marine Raider with Marine Forces Special Operations Command traverses a river during a jungle mobility course, Aug. 4, 2023. A Marine Raider with Marine Forces Special Operations Command navigates a single rope bridge during a jungle mobility course, Aug. 4, 2023. A history of jungle operationsUS commandos have a long history of conducting jungle operations. AdvertisementToday, as the US attempts to redirect its focus to the Indo-Pacific amid steadily rising tensions between the US and China, it looks like jungle operations are back on the menu for the US special operations community.

Persons: —, Cpl, Henry Rodriguez, skillsets, Cody Carroll, I've Organizations: Service, Pacific, Marine Raiders, Business, Tactical Tracking, Raider, Marine Forces Special Operations Command, . Marine Corps, Marine Forces Special, Command, Alamo Scouts, Military Assistance Command Vietnam, MACV, SOG, North, Vietcong, White, Pentagon, Green Berets, Navy, Force Recon, Air Commandos Locations: East, China, Oahu, Hawaii, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Vietnam, Asia, Laos, Cambodia, South Vietnam

☆ Navy SEALs on snowmobiles raced across the frozen Arctic to link up with an attack sub that broke the ice during a special ops first
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US Navy SEALs and allied commandos successfully executed a first-of-its-kind Arctic Circle drill recently. Over 400 special operations forces delivered a package to the submarine USS Hampton. Previously, the US had less of a focus on the Arctic, but with Russia and China taking up an increased presence in the region, the US now has more interest in pursuing Arctic training. AdvertisementSEALs and Norwegian Naval Special Operations Commandos are pictured next to the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Hampton (SSN 767) while two MH-47G Chinook helicopters, assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), hover overhead during an joint submarine/special operations forces integration exercise. US and allied military personnel training in the Arctic must work through temperatures below -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Persons: —, Bill Gallagher, Jeff Atherton, Martin Carey Organizations: US Navy, Service, US Army Green Berets, 160th SOAR, Warfare, 109th Airlift, New York Air National Guard, Special Operations Commandos, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, . Troops Locations: Hampton, Los Angeles, Norway, Canada, Denmark, United Kingdom, Alaska, Greenland, Russia, China

☆ Western special ops activity is on the rise around a new US partner in a strategic but unstable area of the Mediterranean
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewA former Russian partner who has drawn closer to the US in recent years has lately become something of a hub for Western special operations activity. The country's proximity to Israel, Gaza, and the Red Sea is important for special operations training. Naval Special Warfare Operators (SEALs) and Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewmen (SWCC) conduct live fire weapons training with Cypriot Underwater Demolition Command (MYK) forces near Limassol, Cyprus on Jan. 29, 2024. In 2015, Nicosia signed a deal with Moscow allowing Russian warships to access its ports for replenishment. AdvertisementFollowing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Cyprus barred Russian warships from its ports and scrapped the 2015 agreement, something the US had demanded.

Persons: —, Bill Gallagher, Bill Carlisle, Jeff Butler, Butler, Gallagher Organizations: Service, US Navy SEALs, Warfare, Cypriot, Business, Naval, Craft, Cypriot Underwater, Command, US Navy, Navy, NFL, Super, White House, Cypriot National Guard, Turkish, New Jersey National Guard, Navy SEAL Locations: Russian, Cyprus, Gaza, Germany, Netherlands, Akrotiri, Yemen, Limassol, Levant, North Africa, Asia, Israel, East Coast, Russia, Nicosia, Moscow, Greece, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkey, Ukraine, Cypriot

☆ Don't want Russia to successfully invade your country? Then do this.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even though Russia may dwarf a small state, that doesn't guarantee a successful airport seizure. AdvertisementHere's some advice for nations who don't want Russian troops as uninvited guests: Guard your airport. However, other Russian airport takedowns have been largely successful. Stringer points to a special airport defense regiment that Switzerland stationed at Zurich Airport during the Cold War, as a good model. "Understanding and delineating the sequence of events Russia has historically used to initiate a coup and devising countermeasures to thwart these actions may prove critical in defending against the next Russian invasion."

Persons: —, Russia's, Kevin Stringer, Heather Gregg, Stringer, Hafizullah Amin, Amin, playbook, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Guard, Kremlin, West, Institute ., Air, US Army, Russian, Spetznaz, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Rapid, Brigade, National Guard, Antonov, Zurich Airport, United States, 75th Ranger Regiment, Air Force, CIA, Hostomel, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Hostomel, Russia, Kyiv's Hostomel, Ukraine, Institute . Moscow, Prague, Kabul, Sevastopol, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Warsaw, Czechoslovakia, Baltic States, Moldova, Georgia, Russian, Switzerland, Zurich, Europe, Finland, Sweden, Forbes

☆ Iran flaunts a new ship-fired missile, but analysts say it's no game-changer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Paul Iddon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's the first time Iran has launched a ballistic missile from a ship. The launch from the Shahid Mahdavi was, however, the first time Iran launched a ballistic missile from a ship. "The other benefit to Iran of this kind of weapon is it could attack Israel from axes that are less well-protected by Israeli missile defenses." AdvertisementDeploying SRBMs instead of cruise missiles on the Shahid Mahdavi and similar vessels could also have advantages. For one, the ballistic missiles Iran test-fired on Feb. 12 appear relatively small, around the same size as a cruise missile.

Persons: —, Fateh, Shahid Mahdavi, Bryan Clark, Hossein, Shahid, Ryan Bohl, RANE, Clark, Bohl Organizations: Service, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hudson Institute, GCC, Gulf Cooperation, Iran, East Locations: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, North Africa, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Tehran, Idlib, Russia

☆ Russian Pilot Who Defected to Ukraine Is Believed Dead in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Michael Schwirtz | Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Maksim Kuzminov pulled off a daring escape last summer when he defected to Ukraine and handed his military helicopter over to Ukrainian commandos in exchange for half a million dollars. Ukrainian intelligence officials warned Mr. Kuzminov that his life was in danger and urged him not to leave the country. But he ignored them, and was believed to have moved with his money to a small resort town of pastel houses on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Now Mr. Kuzminov, 28 at the time of his defection, appears to have met the harsh fate Ukrainian officials warned of. Two Spanish police officials with knowledge of the case said the body of a man found riddled with bullets last week in the coastal town of Villajoyosa belonged to Mr. Kuzminov.

Persons: Maksim Kuzminov, Vladimir V, Kuzminov Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Villajoyosa

☆ Undercover Israeli Killings in West Bank Hospital May Be War Crimes: UN Experts
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - The killing of three Palestinian men in a hospital in the occupied West Bank last month by Israeli commandos disguised as medical workers and Muslim women may amount to war crimes, a group of U.N. experts said on Friday. The experts concerned are special rapporteurs engaged by the United Nations to examine a specific human rights issue. War in Israel and Gaza View All 194 ImagesIsrael’s military was not immediately available for comment on their statement. The West Bank has seen an explosion of violence since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent invasion of Gaza by Israel. (Reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva; Additional reporting by Emily Rose in Jerusalem; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Persons: Ibn Sina, prima facie, Emma Farge, Emily Rose, Gareth Jones Organizations: West Bank, Shin, Basel Al, United, Hamas, Jenin Brigade, Islamic, The West Bank Locations: GENEVA, Jenin, Basel, Israel, United Nations, Gaza, headscarves, Palestinian, Geneva, Jerusalem

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