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By Robert Young Pelton Dirty wars attract a wide variety of odd types: Volunteers, journos, freedom fighters, NGOs, businessmen and even tourists. The traditional concept of war as one group of soldiers battling another until the other side surrenders or is vanquished is long outdated, as are many of the traditional roles associated with such a conflict. Among traditional wars have been the so-called neutrals—journalists, aid workers, NGOs and supposedly civilians protected in battle by The Hague or after capture...

The post Syria: Wish You Were Here? appeared first on Dangerous Magazine.

By Robert Young Pelton Eric Harroun is from Phoenix, Arizona. He served in the U.S. military from 2000 until a car accident that left him with a plate in his head. He was discharged with full disability in 2003. Around Christmas of 2010 he visited Egypt and Lebanon. Two years later in September 2012 he returned to Egypt were he got caught up in the celebrations in Tahrir Square. In June of 2012 he was determined to do something with...

The post Eric Harroun: Jihadi or Junketeer? appeared first on Dangerous Magazine.

By Will Grant After a typically exhaustive five-year process, the Army may be ready to issue a new rifle to infantrymen for the first time in 50 years. Through what’s called the individual carbine competition, the Army is evaluating five rifles for widespread service as a replacement for the M4. The final product of that selection process will likely mean the end of the M16 family of weapons’ streak as the longest-running standard US infantry rifle. Of the five rifles...

The post Earning Its Keep: The HK416 Within the US Military appeared first on Dangerous Magazine.

By Will Grant DENVER—On Saturday, gun-rights advocates turned out in 120 cities across the nation to rally in support of their Second Amendment rights—rights, they say, are being eroded by politicians presenting ill-founded solutions to problems that have nothing to do with assault weapons, magazine capacity or background checks. Colorado has found itself at the center of the nationwide gun-law debate due to a package of four bills, currently before the state Senate, that proposes some of the nation’s strictest...

The post Battlground Colorado: The Frontier of Gun Rights appeared first on Dangerous Magazine.

By Will Grant Exports from Afghanistan are few. Raisins, rugs, opium, wool, other dried fruit, and that’s about it. It is the world’s sixth largest exporter of raisins, according to the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan, and it’s in full control of the world’s opium market, but decades of war have all but killed the export business in most of the country. In the last five years, exports of Afghan rugs, which account for 47% of export earnings, have dropped...

The post Sandal Stimulus: Afghans Make Combat Flip Flops appeared first on Dangerous Magazine.

By Robert Young Pelton LAS VEGAS – Heavyset middle-aged men holding plastic bags loaded down with brochures crowd around the monitors at the trade show watching a silent CNN broadcast. They didn’t need sound to figure out what was going on: It was Jan. 16 and, standing on a stage flanked by schoolchildren, President Barack Obama was proposing a ban on assault-style weapons, tighter background checks and a number of other new gun control measures in the wake of the...

The post Guntopia: Opinions from SHOT Show appeared first on Dangerous Magazine.