Latest Articles about Military/Security
Moscow Promises Responses to US and NATO Activities
Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary to President Vladimir Putin, is generally not known for eloquence. But his comment last week (June 7) about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s exercises in the Baltic region stands out both for its convolutedness and uncharacteristic meekness. His point, reproduced... MORE
U.S. Backing Gives Kurds Cover for United Federal Region in Northern Syria
After months of negotiation, the United States finally gave the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - which is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and includes the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC) – the green light to launch its offensive to take the Syrian... MORE
Taliban Victories in Helmand Province Prove Test for Afghan Government
Days after a U.S. drone strike killed the Taliban leader Mullah Akhar Mohammad Mansur in southwestern Pakistan on May 21, Afghan lawmakers warned of the impending collapse of Afghanistan's largest province. "Helmand is on the verge of collapse; 58 people were martyred during a single... MORE
BRIEFS
LIBYA: CLOSING IN ON ISLAMIC STATE’S STRONGHOLD Libyan forces have had a run of luck against Islamic State (IS) fighters in recent weeks, with two separate militias capturing several towns and closing in on the extremists’ stronghold of Sirte. The Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG), the... MORE
Naeem Bokhari: Military Mastermind of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Farhan Zahid This past February, the Karachi police and the Sindh Rangers, a Pakistani paramilitary force, foiled a terrorist plot to stage a massive jailbreak in southeast Pakistan. The operation, which appears to have been intelligence-led, was one of the largest and most successful joint... MORE
Muslim al-Shishani: Georgian-Born Militant in Syria Falls on Hard Times
Mairbek Vatchagaev Muslim al-Shishani is the nom de guerre of Murad Margoshvili, commander of the Junud al-Sham (“Soldiers of Syria”) insurgent group operating in Syria. Al-Shishani is a Georgian national, but he is also an ethnic Kist, a member of the Chechen sub-ethnic group that... MORE
Growing Overlap Between Counter-Terrorism and Overseas Interest Protection Acts As New Driver of Chinese Strategy
Late November 2015 marked a pivotal moment in the evolution of how terrorism is perceived in China. The death of a Chinese citizen at the hand of the ISIS and the fact that three senior managers of China Railway Construction Corporation were among the casualties... MORE
The Courage to Fight and Win: The PLA Cultivates Xuexing for the Wars of the Future
With all its new weapons systems and platforms, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has become a powerful military by any standard that can be quantified. But how will PLA officers and enlisted, however well-armed, perform when faced in combat by a capable adversary? China’s civilian... MORE
China Dictates Terms for Sino-Japanese Relations During First Japanese Foreign Minister Visit in Four Years
Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio’s official visit to Beijing from April 29 to May 1, the first trip to China by a Japanese Foreign Minister since November 2011, represented renewed effort to mend the frayed relationship between Asia’s two most powerful countries (South China Morning... MORE
Team Tsai Ing-wen: a Who’s Who of the New Cabinet
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office on May 20 with no shortage of challenges ahead. Her inaugural speech focused on five specific areas: transforming economic structures; strengthening the social safety net; addressing social fairness and justice; promoting regional peace, stability and cross-Strait relations; and contributing... MORE