MUST-READS

• Libya
  In Libya, will Misrata be the kingmaker?

  Four years after Libya’s revolution, two political-military coalitions are competing for power in Libya, which are often, yet inaccurately, described as two governments, two parliaments and two armies. Behind that seeming polarization lies a far messier reality. More than 200 armed groups from the western city of Misrata anchor the military power behind the western alliance in Tripoli. The commanders, structures and fighters of these groups remain largely unchanged since the 2011 revolution, a tapestry analyzed in depth in a new edited volume, “The Libyan Revolution and its Aftermath.” The genesis and inner workings of these Misrata militias serve as a vignette into the complex coalitional politics playing out within these alliances.

• Yemen
  Yemen Houthis take over U.S.-trained special forces base in Sanaa

  Armed men from Yemen's newly dominant Houthi group took over a special forces army base in the capital Sanaa early on Wednesday, soldiers there said. The clashes, which lasted around six hours, started late on Tuesday when Houthis shelled the camp with heavy weapons, soldiers from the camp said. At least 10 people were killed.

• Syria
  Syrian Kurds cut IS supply line near Iraq; fears for Christians mount

  Kurdish militia pressed a big offensive against Islamic State in northeast Syria on Wednesday, cutting one of its supply lines from Iraq, as fears mounted for dozens of Christians abducted by the hardline group that recently beheaded 21 Egyptian Copts.

• UAE Defense Industry
  Defense Firms Put Down Roots in UAE

  U.S. and other global defense firms are putting down roots here in hopes selling arms to UAE, a strong American military ally in the region. For these companies, the sales have become even more important, particularly as Pentagon weapon sales have slowed in recent years.

  • National Defense - Lockheed Martin Aggressively Pursuing Missile Defense Export Contracts
• U.S. Anti-ISIS Strategy
  Opinion: Why the Military Is Giving Part of Its Playbook to ISIS

  A Pentagon-sanctioned briefing last week that released critical details of a coalition operation against a key Islamic State group stronghold in Iraq continues to leave national security experts baffled, wondering why the military would go against its tradition of not publicly providing information that could prove useful to enemy forces seeking to defend against an attack.

  • Bloomberg - U.S. ships weapons, ammo to Iraqi forces, Pentagon says
  • Foreign Policy - Pentagon in Damage Control Mode After Detailing Iraq Offensive
• Fear of the Islamic State spawns a renegade Afghan militia

  The Margh militia is the latest of the many irregular armed groups brazenly forming across the nation, seldom challenged by authorities even as President Ashraf Ghani has vowed to disband them. With most U.S. and NATO forces gone and Afghanistan’s security forces struggling to fill the void, such renegade militias pose a major obstacle to Ghani’s promise of creating a new Afghanistan where the rule of law is respected.

  • McClatchy - Rebels: U.S. ignored early plan to stop Islamic State
  • WSJ (paywall) - Afghan Deal Probe Tests New President
• U.S. Foreign Policy
  Kerry Presses Congress for More Power and Money To Fight ISIS

  Kerry’s full slate of hearings before Congress this week reflects how the Obama administration has kept the lead on many national security crises in the hands of the State Department. Increasingly, policymakers and military leaders are repeating the refrain “there is no military solution” to the world’s conflicts. On Monday after a high-level war council meeting on the Islamic State strategy in Kuwait, newly minted Defense Secretary Ash Carter said more emphasis needs to be put on the diplomatic side of that operation.

  • Defense News - On the Road to Mosul: Iraq Buys IED-Detecting Vehicles
  • RFE/RL - Wave Of Bombings Hits Baghdad; Intense Fighting In Anbar
  • Bloomberg - U.S. ships weapons, ammo to Iraqi forces, Pentagon says
• Pakistan
  That part of the India-Pakistan border that’s all beer and gunshots of joy

  Only a giant, inflated neon Mountain Dew gave any indication that the race had corporate sponsors. Most participants funded their own rally cars, mechanics, transport, accommodation, and food. I was lucky to have accommodation in a private camp. Most spectators and journalists were only given a tent a few square feet of the parking lot, where they were to pitch it.

• U.S. Public Opinion: Palestine
  Americans Closely Split Over Palestinian Statehood

  Forty-two percent of Americans favor the establishment of an independent Palestinian state comprising the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This is down slightly from 46% a year ago and among the lowest support levels Gallup has recorded since 2000. Nearly as many Americans, 38%, oppose Palestinian statehood, while 20% have no opinion on the issue.

  • Washington Post - New Palestinian city has condos, a mall and a sports club - but no water
• Saudi Consumers
  Saudi King’s Cash Giveaway Spurs Surge in Retail Sales: Video

  Borderfree CEO Michael DeSimone explains how firms can benefit from Saudi King Salman's decree that a bonus worth about 2-months salary, or nearly $32 billion, be paid to government employees, soldiers, pensioners and students on government stipends at home and abroad.

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