Latest Articles about Military/Security

Obama Administration Placates Russia on Ukraine
Diplomacy by the United States and Western Europe has recently intensified pressure on Ukraine to legitimize the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” (see EDM, July 31). Meanwhile, Moscow has almost fallen silent on this issue at the official level. Until the end of June,... MORE

Russia’s Reputation Sinks Precipitously in International Opinion Polls
While breaking the norms of international behavior at its own discretion, Russia may fancy itself a champion of change in the world order; but in fact, it is increasingly seen as an arrogant maverick and a sore loser. Russian media reported, with little commentary, the... MORE

Kyrgyzstan’s Relations With the US Suffer Amid Moscow-Bishkek Rapprochement
On July 21, the prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, Temir Sariyev, issued a decree abrogating the Kyrgyz Republic’s bilateral aid and assistance agreement with the United States, which was initially signed in May 1993, in Washington, DC. The key element of this accord is the tax-free... MORE

Wilayat al-Yemen: The Islamic State’s New Front
The protracted and ongoing civil conflict in Yemen has brought to the fore a range of regional threats, both old and new. Most prominently, Yemen’s multisided battle space has already allowed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and its locally branded affiliate Ansar al-Shari’a to... MORE

Moscow Launches Operations Against Suspected Pro-IS forces in Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria
The militant underground movement in the North Caucasus suffered large losses in Chechnya and Kabardino-Balkaria at the start of August 2015. On August 2, special forces of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the military and the police clashed with a group of militants in the... MORE

A Profile of Bangladesh’s Ansarullah Bangla Team
On May 25, the Bangladesh government banned the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) organization under the country’s 2013 anti-terrorism laws. The ABT was behind the recent killing of three secular/atheist bloggers—Avijit Roy, Washiqur Rahman and Anant Bijoy Das—whose writings criticized organized religion and the intolerance of... MORE

Nuclear Agreement Overshadows Arab Unrest in Iranian Khuzestan
The accord recently struck between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany (P5+1) represents a watershed in Middle East diplomacy. The culmination of almost two years of negotiations, the deal outlines a plan to lift most international economic sanctions on Iran... MORE

Islamic State Threat Forces Caucasus Emirate to Undergo Major Restructuring
Events at the end of 2014 appeared to indicate that the end of the Caucasus Emirate (CE) was near. That was when the leaders of the CE regional branches in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia switched sides by taking an oath of allegiance to Islamic State... MORE

Lines of Communication Are Closing Between East and West
Last week (July 30), at a press conference in the newly furnished National Defense Center, on the Frunsinskaya embankment in downtown Moscow, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov (60) presented the defense ministry’s latest major PR project: the opening of the First Army Games International, which... MORE

Ukraine’s Antiterrorism Cooperation With Russia
The financial intelligence services of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine have been intensively cooperating to prevent the financing of illegal armed groups, according to Vyachaslaw Reut, the head of the financial monitoring department of Belarus’ State Control Committee (KGK) (TASS, July 22). “Despite the existing political... MORE