Nonviolent measures to combat violent extremist ideology should supplement military efforts AHMAD FARID FOROZI, The Asia Foundation Violence driven by extreme interpretation of religious texts and unjustified aggressive ideologies has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in Afghanistan since the beginning of conflict in the country in 1978. Millions more have been forced to leave their homes and migrate to other countries. This human catastrophe represents a lost opportunity for development and economic growth, leaving Afghanistan one of the poorest countries of the world. Today the armed opposition groups (AOGs) — most prominently the…
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Jordan assembles a Marine battalion to protect the vital port of Aqaba and conduct overseas missions UNIPATH STAFF At the Regional Marine Symposium in Abu Dhabi in August 2018, Unipath spoke with Staff Lt. Col. Mutasim Al-Rabie, commanding officer of the 77th Royal Jordanian Marine Battalion: Unipath: What are the duties of the 77th Royal Jordanian Marine Battalion? Lt. Col. Mutasim: The battalion will protect military bases in Aqaba and provide protection for Jordanian naval headquarters, the Marine Training Center in Titin and other government and economic facilities within the Aqaba region. We are ready to fulfil any duty required…
Heroic tribal fighters played a large role in helping liberate towns and cities in northern Iraq UNIPATH STAFF When Daesh swept into Mosul in 2014, it targeted the city’s leaders who had rejected extremist ideology since the emergence of terrorism in Iraq. The terrorists came with a list containing the names of elders, dignitaries and clerics. Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi commanded that “these apostates be cut off even if they seek haven in the curtain of the Kaaba.” Topping the list of names was Sheikh Khalid al-Sabah al-Jubouri, head of the al-Jabour clan in the Nimrud and Hamdania areas…
Qatar’s Computer Emergency Response Team builds resilience against online threats KHALID AL-HASHMI, ASSISTANT UNDERSECRETARY FOR CYBER SECURITY, QATAR As Qatar’s dependence on cyberspace and information technology grows, the resilience and security of this infrastructure become ever more important. The government of Qatar has realized the need for driving the adoption of cyber security and safety within the nation and has been working tactically to address prevalent threats. Qatar’s 2030 vision lists a number of strategic areas of importance to the nation, some of which prioritize cyber safety and security. The main areas addressed strategically are the following: Human development: Within this…
Defeating terrorist messaging requires deleting offensive content and devising counternarratives UNIPATH STAFF Daesh suffered crushing defeats on the battlefields of Iraq and Syria in 2017, but there’s one battlefield on which the terrorists still operate without fear. In the summer of 2018 — a full year after Daesh was driven from some of its last strongholds in Mosul — the terrorist group continued to spread its message of hate across some of the internet’s most popular platforms. YouTube is a format most associated with fun and informative videos produced by teens and young adults, but Daesh messaging crept onto the…
Lt. Gen. Bismillah Waziri commands the Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps UNIPATH STAFF For years, as some of the most trusted Soldiers in Afghanistan, Afghan National Army Special Operations commandos were summoned for such conventional duties as manning roadblocks and security checkpoints. Lt. Gen. Bismillah Waziri felt such ordinary missions — though critically important — failed to adequately use the talents and training of Afghan commandos noted for their mobility and flexibility. Promoted to his current rank in 2018 in command of his country’s special operations forces, Gen. Waziri aims to wield his troops mostly as an offensive force…
UNIPATH STAFF | photos by SGT. 1ST CLASS TY MCNEELEY/U.S. ARMY Tajik and U.S. Army troops spent three weeks together in April 2018 sharing border security and mountain warfare skills. The engagement culminated in joint missions between the Tajikistan Peacekeeping Battalion of the Mobile Forces and the 648th Military Engagement Team of the Georgia Army National Guard. “The Soldiers who have come here have good experience of field training exercises,” said Capt. Islomzoda Fakhriddin, commander of the Tajik peacekeeping battalion. “Most of them have taken part in combat field training and actual combat. … It’s a great honor for us…
UNIPATH STAFF Afghanistan’s efforts to restore electricity to underserved citizens improved dramatically with the approval of a new energy agreement with Uzbekistan in October 2018. Uzbekistan’s national energy company, Uzbekenergo, will help modernize Afghanistan’s electrical grid by building a $150 million transmission line from Surkhan in Uzbekistan to Puli-Khumri in northern Afghanistan. Although Uzbekistan has supplied Afghanistan with electricity since 2002, connections have been insufficient to cover the whole country. In 2017, Afghanistan signed a contract with Uzbekistan to buy nearly 2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and have transmitted some of that power through lines in Tajikistan. Central Asian…
UNIPATH STAFF The largest military cargo hub in the Middle East opened in Kuwait City in the second half of 2018. “Cargo City” will serve the Kuwait Air Force and U.S. and coalition forces as a military logistics point. The 33,000-square-meter project cost $32 million and will serve as a temporary cargo hub until the projected 2023 completion of West Al-Mubarak Air Base. U.S. Air Force and Army engineers built Cargo City in cooperation with Kuwaiti contractors. The job was immense: Nearly 400 trucks carrying dirt and rock arrived at the site daily for four months. “During the build process,…
UNIPATH STAFF Egypt’s Navy engaged in a joint exercise with Saudi, Emirati and U.S. warships in the Red Sea in July 2018. Mine sweeping and boarding and inspecting ships were the focus of training. But that midsummer exercise — dubbed Eagle Response 2018 — is becoming almost routine for Cairo’s military planners. Egyptian naval forces conducted many exercises with Middle Eastern and European partners throughout 2018, a shift in focus for a nation best-known as a land power. The Medusa naval drills — held with Greece and Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea — and the Cleopatra drills — held with…