On September 21, Russian Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov announced that Moscow plans to nominate the controversial Commander of the Airborne Forces (Vozdushno Desantnye Voyska–VDV), Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov for the post of Chief of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Moscow-based observers... MORE

An intention by the ruling Party of Regions (PRU) to toughen up libel laws has triggered protests from local journalists. Many suspect that the proposed amendments could be used to stifle dissent ahead of the October 28 parliamentary election and the presidential election scheduled for... MORE

On September 23, Circassian activists staged worldwide public protests in support of Syria’s Circassians. Activists took to the streets in several Turkish cities, in Germany and in the United States. In the North Caucasus, protests were held in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Maikop, Adygea. In Moscow... MORE

On September 13, the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. It was his seventh visit to this Central Asian republic during the last four years. The last time South Korea’s leader met with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev was in... MORE

Ever since Chechnya was conquered in May 1859, Russia has tried out various ways to weaken the role of Islam there. It was Islam that became the banner of the North Caucasians struggle during the colonization of the region by Russia in the second half... MORE

Riyaz Ismail Shahbandari aka Riyaz Bhatkal is one of the top Indian jihadis and co-founders of the Indian Mujahideen (IM). He is the younger brother of IM ideologue, Iqbal Bhatkal, another co-founder of the IM. [1] Riyaz has been involved in several high profile terrorist... MORE

The Afghan newspaper Arman-e-Malli carried one of the first reports about members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) operating in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province in August, 2009. In January 2010, Kunduz governor Mohammad Omar, who was assassinated seven months later in a bombing at a mosque in... MORE

Let’s begin with the assumption that Israel can overcome the logistical and political hurdles involved in mounting an attack on Iran’s nuclear development facilities, either unilaterally or in cooperation with the United States. Unlike earlier strikes on Syrian and Iraqi nuclear facilities, Iran will certainly... MORE

The recent escalation of jihadi activity in the Sinai Peninsula has added a new dimension to the geostrategic uncertainties of the post-Mubarak era. Like the fallen regime, the Sinai served as a buffer in the cold peace between the Egyptian and Israeli populations. With the... MORE

Burma has undergone significant changes in recent years, as increasing pressure from the United States and other Western powers to democratize and respect human rights has mounted. The work of political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi’s, which won her a Nobel Peace prize and inspired... MORE