Rowan Scarborough

Putin’s forces refuse to attack Islamic State in Syria

Russian forces are not attacking the Islamic State in Syria unless its terrorist army is battling troops of President Bashar Assad, the U.S. military said Wednesday.

February 3, 2016

Obama’s gun control executive order directs Pentagon to make firearms safer, not more lethal

In President Obama's first foray into small-arms procurement for the armed forces, his recent executive order on gun control directs the Pentagon to find ways to make not so much more lethal firearms, but safer ones.

January 31, 2016

France cracks down on Islamic radicalism after Paris attacks, shutters mosques

France is once again responding to a Paris slaughter at the hands of Islamic radicals by trying to root out extremism entrenched in its growing Muslim population.

January 28, 2016

U.S. troops must deploy permanently to Afghanistan: McCain

Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain said on Thursday that the U.S. needs to model its troop stay in Afghanistan on the long commitment the nation made to South Korea.

January 28, 2016

ISIS boasts of an assassin boot camp capable of unleashing mass murderers on Europe

A propaganda video from the Islamic State shows that the terror group has the machinery in place to attract recruits, mold them into assassins and then dispatch them back to Europe to commit mass murder, such as the carnage in Paris on Nov. 13.

January 25, 2016

‘Jihadi John’ obituary reveals limits of surveillance in stopping ISIS extremists

The story of Londoner "Jihadi John" shows how difficult it is for the U.S. and its allies to monitor extremists, unable to arrest them and helpless to act before they commit murder for the Islamic State terror army.

January 24, 2016

Obama releases al Qaeda’s most skilled explosives expert

The Obama administration has released one of al Qaeda's most skilled explosives experts, a man personally praised by Osama bin Laden and who created the shoe-bomb design that was used unsuccessfully to bring down an airliner in 2001.

January 21, 2016

U.S. airstrike on Mosul banks kills Iraqi civilians

The U.S. command in Iraq acknowledged Wednesday that some civilians were killed when it targeted two cash centers in Mosul, as war planners weighed the benefit of destruction against the downside of collateral damage.

January 20, 2016

Afghanistan forces held back by corrupt, incompetent commanders in Taliban fight

The Afghans have fired the commanders of a large ground force in Helmand province, a critical battleground where the Taliban is contesting allied control and where a U.S. commando was killed this month.

January 19, 2016

Obama too cautious in bombing ISIS, former war planners say

Amid the 25th anniversary of the devastating Desert Storm air war, the Obama administration is bombing the Islamic State terrorist army so carefully that commanders are falling well short of enemy destruction allowed by international law.

January 18, 2016

Diesel engine trouble while in Iranian waters led to easy seizure of U.S. Navy boats

The crew of two U.S. Navy Riverine Command Boats commandeered by Iranian forces on Jan. 12 crossed into that country's territorial waters, U.S. Central Command said on Monday.

January 18, 2016

Obama releases Guantanamo detainees determined to keep trying to kill Americans

Among the 10 Yemeni terrorists released by the Obama administration this week, one is Muhammad Salih Husayn al-Shaykh, a man who has pledged to kill as many Americans as possible.

January 14, 2016

Terror attacks likely to increase as ISIS desperately tries to show ‘an image invincibility’

The top commander in the war against the Islamic State said on Thursday that its ability to strike targets in capitals in Europe, Asia and the Middle East this week does not mean the terror army is growing stronger.

January 14, 2016

American commandos are on the ground in Syria in fight against ISIS

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Wednesday that American commandos are on the ground in Syria embedded with anti-Islamic State rebels and are finding new targets for coalition aircraft to strike.

January 13, 2016

Ray Mabus destroying Marine Corps by forcing integration of women, Duncan Hunter says

Former Marines in Congress, including a liberal Democrat, are on the offensive against Navy Secretary's Ray Mabus' sweeping edicts to the Corps on women in combat.

January 12, 2016

Ukraine desperate for U.S. surveillance equipment in standoff with Russia

When Ukraine's border defense forces look east and south, they see nothing but Russian trouble.

January 10, 2016

Marine Corps scolded for dragging its feet integrating women into the infantry

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has sent scolding memorandum to the Marine Corps, warning commanders that problems with integrating women into the infantry should not be used as an excuse to "halt the policy."

January 8, 2016

Islamic State loses 40 percent of its Iraqi territory

Basking in Iraq's pre-Christmas takeover of Ramadi, the U.S. military on Wednesday made bold claims about the war against the Islamic State, saying the terror army is on the defensive, is losing territory and faces rejuvenated government forces.

January 6, 2016

Pentagon admits Afghan forces are unable to ‘entirely operate on their own’

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that Afghanistan forces still can't "operate entirely on their own" as it explained why U.S. special operations troops were involved in a firefight that killed one of them.

January 5, 2016

Obama military strategy blasted by Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel

President Obama's past three defense secretaries have emerged as some of his toughest critics on military strategy and foreign policy.

January 3, 2016