the combat wombat

Five Eyes was built for another era. We get diminishing value from four partners, and ties with Britain are at a low point. Time to rethink the alliance around those actually delivering intelligence value — Israel, Poland, Ukraine, UAE, Japan, ROK and other serious partners.

Four IDF soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in a clash with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon yesterday, the military announces. Three of the slain soldiers are named as: Cpt. Noam Madmoni, 22, from Sderot Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, 21, from Lehavim Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, 21, from Bat Yam All served with the Nahal Brigade's Reconnaissance Unit. The name of the fourth soldier is set to be released later, the military says. In addition, one soldier was seriously wounded, and a reservist was moderately hurt in the incident. According to an IDF probe of the incident, during operations in the western sector of southern Lebanon at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday, troops of the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit spotted a cell of Hezbollah gunmen. The soldiers exchanged fire with the Hezbollah operatives from a close range, hitting several of them, the military finds. While evacuating the wounded soldiers from the gun battle, Hezbollah operatives fired an anti-tank missile at the troops, which did not cause any further injuries, according to the probe. The IDF says it returned fire, with tank shelling and airstrikes, against the Hezbollah operatives in the area.

two things that “radicalized” me about this useless stupid war: 1) these videos are often posted with masturbatory glee 2) the victims are always uniformed but very often unarmed and without helmets… almost like they’re PoWs who have been released and hunted on video for sport

Iranian forces appear to have damaged or destroyed multiple USAF KC-135 tankers parked in the open at Prince Sultan Airbase in Saudi Arabia.

Many say the Islamic Republic "wins by not losing" - by merely surviving, it wins. That is true, but only in a narrow sense. It is also true that while it will likely not collapse from the war, it will emerge with its military and security capabilities significantly degraded.

chinese state broadcast on america and iran, episode 2

So far this war is succeeding in making 1 of the top 5 energy shipping routes the private toll road of a country whose top military spokesman declared, just a week ago, that Iran will target “parks, recreation sites & tourist facilities” globally. That’s a horrifying outcome.

Saudi Arabia has been rerouting millions of barrels of oil from the Gulf to the Red Sea via its East–West pipeline since the war began. Tankers are now moving through the Red Sea to load crude at Yanbu, easing pressure from the Gulf shutdown. But if the Bab al-Mandeb is attacked, that fallback route collapses, which could trigger a major disruption in global oil markets.

🇨🇱🟤 Chile’s far-right president, Kast (son of a Nazi), is already underwater in a new poll: his disapproval has surged by 30 points in just a few days, while his approval has dropped by 17. Incredible 😳

🚨בכיר ישראלי: מתקיימים מגעים לפגישה בין בכירים איראנים ואמריקנים באיסלאמאבד בירת פקיסטן בהמשך השבוע 🚨בכיר ישראלי: במסגרת המגעים לפסגה בפקיסטן נבחנת האפשרות שסגן הנשיא האמריקני ואנס יהיה הנציג האמריקני הבכיר 🚨בכיר ישראלי: ישראל ידעה שמתקיימים מאמצי תיווך של כמה מדינות כדי להתניע שיחות בין איראן לבין ארה״ב, אך הופתעה מדבריו של טראמפ על כך שהמגעים הללו מתקדמים ושלכאורה יש הסכמות על 15 נקודות