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1. Seal Team 6, the secret US Navy commando unit that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011, trained for missions to help Taiwan if it were invaded by China, according to people familiar with the preparations. The elite Navy Special Forces team, which is tasked with some of the military’s most sensitive and difficult missions, has been planning and training for more than a year for a conflict in Taiwan at Dam Neck, its headquarters in Virginia Beach, about 155 miles southeast of Washington. The secret training underscores the increased U.S. focus on deterring China from attacking Taiwan as it ramps up preparations for such an eventuality. The preparations have only intensified since Phil Davidson, the U.S. Indo-Pacific commander at the time, warned in 2021 that China could attack Taiwan within six years. (Sources: groveatlantic.com, ft.com)

2. US and Chinese militaries take cautious steps to resume diplomatic relations after a two-year freeze in ties, in an effort to reduce the risk of confrontation amid simmering tensions over Beijing’s activities in the South China Sea and support for Russia. Kickstarting talks between military leaders is a priority of the Biden administration, but one that has previously run into stiff resistance from Beijing. In recent weeks, U.S. officials have secured long-awaited meetings with senior Chinese military officials, including Gen. Wu Yanan, whose command covers operations in the South China Sea. Wu is also expected to participate in a military conference in Hawaii this month, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. (Source: wsj.com)

3. The US is gradually sending aircraft and commandos to the coast of West Africa in an attempt to stop the advance of al Qaeda and Islamic State in one of the world’s most volatile regions. U.S. troops were pushed out of their regional stronghold in Niger this summer, farther inland, and now the Pentagon is busy putting together a backup counterinsurgency plan in neighboring countries: refurbishing an airfield in Benin to accommodate U.S. helicopters, stationing Green Berets and reconnaissance planes in Ivory Coast and negotiating the return of U.S. commandos to a base they previously occupied in Chad. “The loss of Niger means we have lost our ability to directly impact counterterrorism and counterinsurgency in the Sahel,” said retired Maj. Gen. Mark Hicks, the former commander of U.S. Special Operations Forces in Africa, referring to the vast, semi-desert belt just south of the Sahara. According to the Pentagon’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Islamist militants are wreaking havoc in the heart of the Sahel: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. They attack police and military, stoke local discontent, impose their hardline version of Islam in occupied villages and cause some 38,000 deaths since 2017.Source: wsj.com)

4. An Islamist party that made opposition to the Israeli invasion of Gaza the centerpiece of its campaign achieved significant success in Jordan’s elections, according to results released in the kingdom on Wednesday, giving the Muslim Brotherhood a greater foothold in Jordan’s parliament. The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in several countries in the Arab world, will now control a significant bloc in parliament, according to results announced by the electoral commission. It won 31 of the 138 seats. But the government is likely to retain a substantial majority, as two parties allied with it won about 70 seats between them. (Source: nytimes.com)

5. Founded in a Venezuelan prison where it ran a zoo, swimming pool, disco, restaurant and barthe Tren de Aragua has grown in less than a decade into a terrifying transnational criminal force — “MS-13 on steroids,” as one federal official called it, referring to the Central American gang that has entrenched itself in many American communities. The specter of immigrant crime has become a major theme of the presidential campaign, with former President Donald Trump repeatedly referring to “migrant crime.” Federal crime data shows that homicides and other crimes are down — and that the U.S. is much safer than it used to be. The gang is not a household name, but its activities have been a source of fascination on social media. “I think the Tren de Aragua in the U.S. could help elect Trump,” said Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington. (Source: wsj.com)