Fur, Feathers, Ivory and Bone: The U.S. Military and Endangered Species...
A recent study examining war and contraband finds that American soldiers deployed abroad have helped create a niche industry for wildlife products made from imperiled species.
View ArticleArming for the Syrian War: Do Soaring Prices Predict Escalating Conflict?
Inside the arms market for Syrian rebels, where demand is intense and prices are high.
View ArticleThe 3-Step Method to Analyzing Videos from Syria: The Case of Heat-Seeking...
The Syria conflict presents a daily stream of amateur videos from the violence and the activities related to it, making this a conflict like almost no other to try to cover thoroughly and thoughtfully.
View ArticleAmerican White Phosphorus Shells in Libya: A Challenge to a Pentagon Chestnut
The uprising in Libya last year, especially the decades-old weapons let loose in the chaos, tell a cold-war tale of allies and arms deals.
View ArticleIn Syria, Potential Threat to Government Air Power Emerges
For the first time since the conflict in Syria began last year, an activist opposed to President Bashar al-Assad has publicly presented possible evidence that the antigovernment forces have obtained a...
View ArticleTaliban Gun Locker: The Frankengun of Wardak Province
Whenever analysts and arms researchers scrutinize infantry weapons circulating through a conflict they encounter predictable finds. But sometimes there are surprises.
View ArticleIn the Syrian Fight, Rebels' Prospects Can Change With the Weather
Guerrilla movements, and their prospects, are molded not only from within. External factors - like their enemies, their sponsors or their models - also give them shape. Environmental factors can...
View ArticleSyria's Dark Horses, With Lathes: Makeshift Arms Production in Aleppo...
The development of local arms-producing industries in Syria provides a good indicator of the stubborn determination and evolving organization of the fighting groups trying to unseat President Bashar...
View ArticleSyria's Dark Horses, With Lathes: Makeshift Arms Production in Aleppo...
Syrian rebel workshops are diversified in the weapons they produce, including lighter explosive rounds.
View ArticleFrench Cluster Munitions in Libya, and a Call for Help
Cluster bombs manufactured in the former Soviet Union, China and Spain have all made their way into Libya. Now, evidence has surfaced for the presence of French-made submunitions as well.
View ArticleWhat a Crate in Syria Says About Saudi Help to the Rebels
Wooden munitions crates appear in Aleppo documenting the apparent hand of Saudi Arabia in the transfer of Ukrainian arms to Syria's rebels, but is it possible to tell what they contained?
View ArticleHeat-Seeking Missiles in Syria: The SA-7 in Action with Rebels
Two videos recently posted on YouTube suggest that the rebel forces have acquired heat-seeking shoulder-fired missiles and that they are trying to target Syrian military aircraft.
View ArticleSyrian Forces' Improvised Arms: Desperate Measures, or Deliberate Aid?
According to conventional wisdom, pro-government forces in Syria should be well equipped by weapons from Russia and China and, to a lesser extent, Iran. But they have resorted to crafting weapons to...
View ArticleDirty Tricks of Government Forces: Where Deception and Deadliness Meet Inside...
Booby-trapped ammunition has a extensive history, but the practice is controversial, its legality is questionable and governments have rarely disclosed information about programs intended to pass...
View ArticleVideos From Syria Appear to Show First Confirmed Hit of Aircraft by...
This moment was a long time coming. The ground-to-air war (and the likely government retaliation for this hit) can be expected to be bloodier from here.
View ArticleThe Battle for Syria's Minakh Air Base
The Times's C.J. Chivers reports on the battle for one military compound north of Aleppo, Syria, which has been a stubborn holdout.
View ArticleBattlefield Update: The Fight for Isolated Government Outposts in Northern Syria
As world leaders and commentators of every stripe have debated President Obama’s “red line,” there have been significant developments on the ground.
View ArticleSecret Diplomatic Cable Sheds Light on Libyan Arms Deals
A Belgian memo suggests that those making arms deals knew, even 40 years ago, that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s weapons would not be retained by Libya’s government.
View ArticleCrackling Over the Radio, Spotter’s Voice Guides Syrian Rebels
A man nicknamed the Watchtower leads a network of rebel spotters in northern Syria who watch roads and military bases, broadcasting warnings about the movement of government forces.
View ArticleIn Ukraine, Spent Cartridges Offer Clues to Violence Fueled by Soviet Surplus
Samples of cartridge cases gathered by two reporters for The New York Times in eastern Ukraine showed that ammunition for assault rifles used in the clashes originated in plants that once were...
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