War Is Boring

by ZACH ROSENBERG The New York Times is reporting that the Yemeni government has successfully repulsed a “major offensive” by insurgents. News organizations report at least 140 insurgents killed in a battle all over the northern province of Saada, including urban fighting in the area’s major city. The conflict in Yemen, though often ignored by [...]

* Somali pirates hold ship laden with armored vehicles; U.S. Navy keeps watch. (Background.) * Sudanese military posing as U.N. in Darfur. (Background.) * Civilians flee Mogadishu. (Background.) * Kidnapped Egypt tourists now in Chad. (Background.)

* Taliban puts squeeze on U.S. supply lines (deja vu) * Peacekeepers smuggling weapons in Somalia? * Israel fed jet tech to China * Mad genius Bill Sweetman on the trail of secret U.S. airplane * Burma lets in aid workers (did the naval threat work?)

Good: Moqtada Al Sadr extends Shia militia ceasfire. This means another six months of relative peace in Iraq. Bad: Canada to quit Afghanistan in 2011. On the other hand, a firm exit date allows for long-range planning. Correction: The Ares blog reports that the U.S. has deployed just 1 percent of its military to Afghanistan, [...]

Iran: captives stew; carriers threaten Iraq: Congress votes for pullout; Baathists back in Kurdistan: new refineries!; happy new year Somalia: Burundian peacekeepers happy; Ugandans not Afghanistan: Italians stick around Lebanon: Iraqi bad guys in Leb refugee camps Sudan: EU sanctions; China invests Timor: Aussies accused … and again Taiwan: new fighter debuts North Korea: slowly [...]

I’m launching a new regular thing here at War Is Boring, a periodic update on wars and potential wars worldwide, in order of how much I care. Iran: sanctions refined; army shows off Iraq: Dems’ withdrawal bill looks likely; water short Kurdistan: Turks still pissed about rebels Somalia: plane shot down?  Afghanistan: Aussies grow?; border clash kills Lebanon: war semantics; bomb defused [...]