This week the Russian armed forces began month-long strategic military exercises called Stability 2008. According to the Defense Ministry, the scenario suggests "a worsening of the situation and an escalation of crisis situations into military confrontation" (www.mil.ru, September 20). The composition of the forces and... MORE

In a deserted area of southern Gaza, the recently formed Jaysh al-Ummah (The Army of the Nation - JAU) organized its first public training session on September 1. The local Reuters video crew was given access to record the training of this little-known armed group.... MORE

Turkey’s leading politicians and security officials gathered at the Prime Minister’s residence on September 11 to discuss approaches for Turkey’s ongoing struggle against the Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan – PKK). Despite a long summer of small-scale attacks on Turkish security forces in predominantly... MORE

Transparency International has assessed corruption in Russia as being at its highest level in eight years. The Berlin-based international watchdog group ranked Russia in 147th place out of 180 countries in its annual Corruption Perception Index, which is based on polls taken among experts and... MORE

The international terrorist presence in Latin America is concentrated in several "hotspots" where terrorist organizations have found financial and logistic support, as well as a supporting base. Among these areas are Venezuela and its Margarita Island, Trinidad and Tobago, the Iquique area in Chile, and... MORE

In the wake of the conflict in Georgia, the future of energy transportation from the Caspian basin and Central Asia to world markets is once again on the agenda. By looking at the attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline... MORE

A poll conducted earlier this year found that the country’s professional classes are less than fully supportive of its current ruling political-economic system and want the system democratized and opened up. The man in charge of the research, Mikhail Afanasyev, director for strategies and analysis... MORE

As tensions rise between Iraqi Kurds, Arab Sunnis, and Arab Shiites in ethnically mixed Diyala Province during a massive and ongoing military operation by the Iraqi Army, a bombing in the disputed city of Khanaqin threatens to launch the region into new convulsions of violence.... MORE

The last week of August has a special meaning for the Turkish Republic and its military. Since the inception of the Republic, August 30 has been the day for commemorating the Turkish army’s victory against the occupation forces in Anatolia in 1922. This tradition has... MORE