Syrian Ceasefire Crumbling: 11 days after the ceasefire was supposed to have gone into effect, there was only close to a few days of no armed conflict. During this 11 day span, after the multilaterally negotiated ceasefire was agreed upon, there have been small skirmishes, Russian bombardment of UN aid convoys, and increased aggression by the Syrian National Army. It is only a matter of time until the whole agreement falls through

Chemical Weapons Used Against U.S. Troops in Iraq: The Islamic State is thought to have fired shells of mustard gas agent into the joint United States – Iraqi airbase of Qayyarah in northern Iraq, south of the ISIS stronghold of Mosul. Chemical Weapons are banned in the international community by the Geneva Protocol (1925), The Chemical Weapons Convention (1993), and many additional universally adopted treaties and protocols.

International Day of Peace: This past Wednesday the United Nations celebrated it’s annual holiday. The New York-based headquarters hosted guests from around the world to speak. From Barack Obama and his warning of nationalism and separation in the international community, to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plea for intervention in North Korea’s nuclear program. After the summit there was a strong sense of hope with a cautionary tone.