No Plan, No Problem

"'How far do you want to go?' is not a proper response to 'How far do you want us to go?'" one special forces member told investigators in a report into the U.S. air strikes on a hospital in Kunduz that killed 42 medical staff, patients and caretakers. ..
But the 700-page report, much of it blacked out for security reasons, sheds light on how the rules are not fully understood, even by some troops on the ground, compromising the mission to stabilize the nation and defeat a worsening Islamist insurgency.
"It's not a strategy and, in fact, it's a recipe for disaster in that kind of kinetic environment," said the soldier, who, like others in the report, was not identified.
He added that his unit, whose role was to advise and assist Afghan forces without engaging in combat, asked three times for commanders to clarify the rules governing their mission.
"Sadly, the only sounds audible were the sounds of crickets ... though those were hard to hear over the gunfire."...
"The rules of engagement are trapped in the jaws of political confusion about the mission," a senior Western official told Reuters.
"Nobody in Western capitals seems willing to admit that Afghanistan is a worsening war zone and ... that their troops are still battling out a combat mission on a daily basis," added the official, who declined to be named.

At least someone knows their mission

The Alsatian, thought to have been trained by the US Army, was travelling with the group of British soldiers in a convoy of four vehicles. The unsuspecting troops were caught unawares when they were trapped by a group of terrorists last month on the Kurdish border.
The convoy was hit by a homemade bomb as around 50 ISIS fighters attacked. When the British forces attempted to move out, terrorists attacked them from behind.
A US soldier travelling with the convoy let the heroic dog off the leash.
The angry dog ran snarling towards the ISIS fighters. The first terrorist was bitten on the neck and face. The dog then slashed at the second fighter's arm and leg.
The two ISIS fighters ran away in terror after being savaged by the Alsatian.
The dog escaped the battle unhurt and has been hailed a hero by troops after saving the British team's lives, British media reported.

Always a good time to give Russia ultimatums

Yet despite all of this, according to the Associate Press (AP) in their article, “Kerry warns Assad to start transition by Aug. 1 or else,” the United States fully expects Damascus to concede to a “political transition” engineered by Washington, leaving the nation in the hands of verified terrorists linked directly to the political and militant forces currently laying waste to Libya and those nations that put them into power.
The article reports:

Secretary of State John Kerry warned Syria’s government and its backers in Moscow and Tehran on Tuesday that they face an August deadline for starting a political transition to move President Bashar Assad out, or they risk the consequences of a new U.S. approach toward ending the 5-year-old civil war.

Assad government backs down in prison riot

A deal is reported to have been reached to end a mutiny at a prison in Syria by hundreds of mostly political detainees.
Sheikh Nawwaf al-Melhem, a leader of the officially-tolerated opposition People's Party, told the BBC he had brokered an agreement between the state and inmates at Hama Central Prison.
The prison's power and water supplies had now been restored, he said.
Human rights and opposition activists say the prisoners took guards hostage about a week ago as they tried to halt the transfer of several inmates to another facility where they believed they might be executed.
Security forces reportedly surrounded the jail and twice failed to retake it by force.
Sheikh Nawwaf, who is also a prominent tribal leader in central Syria, said he travelled to Hama Prison on Saturday afternoon.
The inmates' demands focused on ensuring fair and speedy trials for those detained without trial, and the release of those held without charge, he added