Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
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AQIM Operations Threaten Niger’s Return to Democracy
Almost one year after the military coup that overthrew former Nigerien president Mamadou Tandja, the people of Niger are in the process of choosing a new president. One of the most important challenges that the new president will face is the increasing role that al-Qaeda... MORE
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“How I Joined Jihad”: Nigerian Bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in His Own Words (Part One)
The story of 23-year old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to blow up North West Airlines Flight 253 en-route from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25, 2009, presents a vehicle for distinguishing between political but non-violent radicalization and wholesale conversion to the jihad ideology.... MORE
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A Review of Martyrdom Operations and the Insurgency in the North Caucasus: 2008 to the Present
In a video address in April 2009 Doku Umarov announced the revival of the Riyadus-Salikhin (Kavkaz Centre, May 17, 2009) – a battalion of martyrs created by the deceased Chechen warlord Shamyl Baev which was responsible for a wave of suicide attacks starting in December... MORE
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East-West Diplomacy of the Uzbek President
Uzbek President Islam Karimov has already made two important official visits this year: the first was to Brussels on January 24, where the president met with European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, EU Energy Commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, and NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, among others.... MORE
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Moscow, Tiraspol Raise Preconditions To Negotiations On Transnistria Conflict (Part Two)
Moscow and Tiraspol seem intent on stonewalling the negotiations on the Transnistria conflict with Moldova indefinitely, and are marshalling arguments to justify the obstruction. For the most part, Tiraspol is fronting for Moscow in airing these arguments publicly. They are reaching ten years and more... MORE
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Kazakhstan’s Leading Opposition Party Azat Boycotts Upcoming Presidential Elections
Kazakhstan’s main opposition party Azat intends to boycott the country’s presidential polls to be held in early April, which President Nursultan Nazarbayev is expected to win by a wide margin. This decision was made at the party’s congress in Almaty on February 12 because calling... MORE
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Russia’s New Model Army: “Mobilization Reserves”
A key feature in the reform of Russia’s conventional armed forces was the concept of “permanent readiness,” built around forming permanently combat ready brigades, fully manned, and jettisoning the old cadre or skeleton units. On February 10, the Chief of the General Staff, Army-General Nikolai... MORE
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Kabardino-Balkaria’s Panic-Stricken Government Seeks Increased Security Assistance From Moscow
During a visit to Kabardino-Balkaria on February 9, Moscow’s envoy to the North Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, tried to reassure the region’s government and public of Moscow’s support against the growing insurgency in the beleaguered republic. At a meeting with a group of 200 students in... MORE
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The US Threat Dominates Russian Defense Spending and Foreign Policy Decisions
Verbal confrontation between Moscow and Washington has decreased somewhat as during the 47th International Security Conference in Munich last week. During the conference, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, exchanged instruments of ratification which enabled the START III... MORE
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Hu Emphasizes Stability during Lunar New Year Pilgrimage
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chief and President Hu Jintao visited the prefecture-level city of Baoding in Hebei province (Xinhua News Agency, February 3). The annual spring festival pilgrimage has been used by Chinese leaders as a national... MORE