For an American, Panjakent is not an easy destination to reach, nor—to be frank—is it so simple to pinpoint on a map. As with any worthy place or thing, the remote town of 33,000 in northwest Tajikistan rightly requires the extra effort. Earlier this month, I joined a...
The migration of more than one million Syrian refugees to Lebanon, a country with a regular population of four million, is straining the fragile social fabric and tenuous political balance of the nation. Hosting this unprecedented number of refugees is pushing the...
Set in the northeast corner of Iraq, 150 miles north of Baghdad, the ancient city of Kirkuk is home to a rich mix of ethnicities, languages and historical claims. While its wealth of culture and diversity is sometimes challenged by ethnic tensions, Kirkuk has proven...
Female peshmerga and I talk about fighting on the front lines in honor of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2017. International Women’s Day is on March 8—a day to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations around the world. It’s a day to...
US troops and their local partners are striving to defeat the Islamic State and ease the suffering of civilians in northern Syria. Amidst years of suffering brought on by a brutal civil war and the rise of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), the Americans and...
Dear Supporters, The project I want to share with you today is especially important to me. It involves the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), a group with whom I worked closely when I was commander of a Special Forces detachment in Iraq not long ago. I understand...
This project takes on a rather personal flavor. For me, the soldiers of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) who make up the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), are more than just one of the US’s far-flung proxy forces. They are friends and brothers that left...
Dear Friend, I just got back from the Middle East where I met with American Soldiers and Marines. I was there to understand how Spirit of America can best support our troops in their mission to defeat and stop the tremendous suffering caused by ISIS. My time with our...
Dear supporters, In October we shared Spirit of America’s work to help a damaged school in Kobani, Syria, responding to needs identified by US troops defeating the Islamic State in Syria. We provided needed school supplies. But with the urgent humanitarian crisis in...
