The Pentagon recently released its strategy for fighting the war on terror—The National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism—which it says “reflects the lessons of the first four years” of the war and “maps DOD’s way ahead for the next few decades of this long struggle.” The 42-page document has 4.5 pages of glossary to explain terms, among them “alliance” and “consequence management.” It offers eight “strategic assumptions,” including “Violent extremist movements can make new terrorists faster than the anti-terror coalition can capture or kill them.” There are 12 classified annexes.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.