Issam Abbas Amin General Directorate for Intelligence and Security of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense Unmanned aerial systems, or drones, pose a new challenge in conflict management as an emerging weapon that states and armed groups are finding useful. It appears that drones will change the nature of warfare, or at least will change low-intensity conflict. In 2020, drones were the tactical weapon of choice in the conflicts raging in the Middle East. It is notable that states sponsoring terrorism are the main beneficiaries of this weapon and that their use constitutes a potential challenge to the regional balance of…
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When an international coalition led by the United States ended a 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan, the pinnacle of the operation was an unprecedented airlift of more than 120,000 Afghans and foreign citizens from Afghanistan. From the beginning of August 2021, ethnic Kazakhs applied to the Kazakh Embassy in Kabul for evacuation from Afghanistan and a return to their historical homeland, the Republic of Kazakhstan. So important was this mission to aid ethnic Kazakhs, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assumed special control. The embassy’s diplomatic staff quickly established contact with Afghan Kazakhs and citizens of Kazakhstan living in Afghanistan. As a result,…
MUAMMAR AL-ERYANI, YEMENI MINISTER OF INFORMATION, CULTURE AND TOURISM The act of piracy by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia on the United Arab Emirates-flagged vessel Rawabi off the coast of Yemen’s Hodeidah governorate has sounded alarm bells once more. The attacks reminded the world of the danger the militia poses to the safety of vessels and commercial traffic within the Red Sea’s international shipping lanes and the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait, through which 6 million barrels of oil pass daily. Barely hours after the incident on January 2, 2022, the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced it had received…
I would like to thank United States Central Command for giving me the opportunity to write the editorial for this special edition of Unipath magazine dedicated to peace and recalibration. Under the leadership of His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz, custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the foremost countries contributing to international efforts to promote peace and eradicate terrorism. As Saudi Muslims, we are responsible not only for the protection of Islamic holy sites, but also for purging Islam of ideological cancers that terrorist…
UNIPATH STAFF Dozens of special operations troops from Uzbekistan and the United States performed a daring nighttime assault by helicopter on a hydroelectric dam to recapture it from terrorist insurgents. The simulated operation to seize the Grenada Dam in Mississippi was a highlight of Southern Strike 2021, a military exercise Uzbekistan uses to train some of its top troops. “For the third time Uzbekistan’s special forces participated in the Southern Strike joint exercise. This time officers of Uzbekistan’s Armed Forces and Mississippi National Guard exchanged their experience on counterterrorism operations at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center,” said Uzbek defense…
The arrival of Pope Francis to Iraq in March 2021 provided a common rallying point for Iraqis of all sects and ethnicities. Unipath talked to Maj. Gen. Saad Maan, director of the Iraqi media and security cell, about the importance of Iraqi security for the pope’s visit. Unipath: How important was the pope’s historic visit to Iraq? Maj. Gen. Saad Maan: His Holiness Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq was met with a remarkable welcome and joy not only from Christian citizens of Iraq but also from every religious sect and ethnic group in the country. His visit was a monumental event…
MOAMMAR AL-ERYANI, YEMENI MINISTER OF INFORMATION, CULTURE AND TOURISM At the end of each academic year, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia establishes thousands of what it calls “summer centers” in the occupied capital of Sanaa and other Yemeni governorates under its control. They use these centers to lure children under the age of 18 from their homes and classrooms, forcibly recruit them and mercilessly commit them to certain death on various battlefronts. In 2021, a Houthi leader announced the enrollment of 620,000 children in those centers under the supervision of Iranian Quds Force officer Hassan Irlu (who appears on lists of…
ISLAMIC MILITARY COUNTER TERRORISM COALITION Warfare has changed over the ages, beginning with the creation of professional armies in the 1600s. The 20th century saw the birth of a particular type of modern combat: guerrilla warfare. Guerrillas are armed groups that challenge the authority of regular armies using hit-and-run attacks to avoid direct combat with what they assume will be superior forces. It is no surprise that terrorist groups gravitate toward the guerrilla warfare model. Daesh, which claimed to have set up a “state” in Syria and in parts of Iraq, reverted to guerrilla methods once the international coalition expelled…
UNIPATH STAFF In the heat of a security crisis — be it a terrorist attack, ship hijacking or chemical explosion — multinational forces must respond smoothly and effectively together. Assembling such highly trained teams requires steadfast preparation of the sort provided by Invincible Sentry 21, the multinational exercise that took place in Qatar from March 21 to 25, 2021. Qatar and its neighbors in the Arabian Gulf face unique security challenges in a maritime environment threatened by violent extremist organizations. Aside from security obligations, such as defending ports, shipping channels and energy installations, Doha is also hosting the FIFA World…
JAVLON VAKHABOV, UZBEK AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES Thirty years may seem like a brief moment in time, but as Uzbekistan commemorated the 30th anniversary of our independence, I am reminded of the many successes, accomplishments, victories, and even tragedies that our nation has experienced in these years and how far we have come as a young nation with centuries-old historical roots. In three decades, Uzbekistan has gone from being a Soviet monocrop agricultural state to a self-sufficient sovereign country. In these 30 years we significantly liberalized our economy, and Uzbekistan recently joined the list of the top five fastest…