Latest Articles about Military/Security
For Protection From ‘Terrorists,’ Moscow Offers Central Asians Air Defense
During his recent trip to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu repeatedly spoke about the need for a joint effort against terrorism. “We need to discuss everything happening in the world, to look at and draw up additional joint measures in the... MORE
Moscow Anticipates Anti-Russian NATO Summit
Ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) July 8–9 summit in Warsaw, commentators widely expect the Alliance to adopt a range of measures to boost security on its northeastern and eastern flanks. Moscow, however, notes a number of “signals,” such as the movement of... MORE
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