In Part 2 of our investigative series, we examine how booby-trapped equipment slipped into wartime aid networks in Ukraine, targeting Russian soldiers. by Susan Katz Keating The Russian soldier placed the FPV goggles on his head, and flipped the switch on his drone console. He expected to see real-time images …
Read More »Don’t Shoot, We’re Chinese: Transponder Diplomacy in the Strait of Hormuz
As Iran threatens to burn ships that enter the narrow waterway, some crews are gambling that a few words might protect them. ANALYSIS by Susan Katz Keating The Strait of Hormuz lay ahead when the cargo ship Sino Ocean changed its transponder. A new message appeared on maritime tracking screens: …
Read More »Crossings in Wartime: A Soldier of Fortune Investigative Project
War creates borders. Borders shape power. We examine what moves along the seams. by Susan Katz Keating The soldier lifted his rifle until the business end was inches from my face. “What brings you to Northern Ireland?” he asked. I took a step back, and he lowered the weapon. I now …
Read More »So You Want to Be a War Correspondent
COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating The work has been called the most dangerous form of journalism. Amid my daily influx of emails, text messages, and phone calls, I frequently am hit up by people who want to go downrange under my name. They approach me with variants on the following requests. …
Read More »Beirut Barracks Atrocity: Iran Ordered the Bomb That Killed 241 US Marines
by Susan Katz Keating When President Donald Trump announced the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, he cited the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 U.S. Marines. He included it as part of Iran’s long record of directing proxy attacks on American forces. Here’s how the day unfolded. …
Read More »Epic Fury, Roaring Lion: American, Israeli Forces Strike Iran in Joint Combat Operation
by Susan Katz Keating The United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes across Iran early Saturday, hitting military and regime-linked targets in a major joint combat operation against the Islamic Republic. The Pentagon announced the mission as Operation Epic Fury. Israeli described its own part as Operation Roaring Lion. President …
Read More »WATCH: Night Stalkers in Action
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment is known as the Night Stalkers. They move at a moment’s notice, arriving time on target, plus or minus 30 seconds. Check out the team in action.
Read More »War as Content: Ukraine in the Age of Tik Tok
by Susan Katz Keating In years gone by, they called it the Living Room War. Every evening, American families watched grainy footage of helicopters lifting from rice paddies, and listened to body counts read in calm anchor voices. The war came home, but it arrived on a schedule, filtered through …
Read More »War Predators in Ukraine: They Come to Study the Killing Fields
by Susan Katz Keating China and other foreign actors are using Ukraine as a testbed, deploying cut-outs and deniable assets to gather real-time data on drones, intelligence sources told Soldier of Fortune. The grainy figures moved across the screen, creeping through murky terrain like shadows come to life. A blip …
Read More »‘El Mencho’ is Dead. The Cartel Mobilizes
COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating Mexican officials had not yet confirmed the cartel kingpin’s death when violent reprisals erupted across the country. Mexican security forces killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” in what authorities described as a significant blow to organized crime. Oseguera, the longtime boss of the Jalisco …
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