Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Russian Troops Back on the Border, While Shoigu Brushes off Ukrainian Arms Embargo
In the Duma, on June 18, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reportedly told deputies: “Russian troops are ready for any eventuality in Ukraine.” The Q & A with Shoigu was classified, but deputies still gave an outline of his statements. The defense minister confirmed Russian combat... MORE
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Asian Economic Integration Fuels PRC Frustration With U.S. Alliances
PRC leaders and media commentary have stepped up criticism of U.S. efforts to strengthen its alliances as counter-productive for the region’s long term security. Deep structural drivers related to China’s pursuit of economic growth underpin these views, making it unlikely Beijing will be easily dissuaded... MORE
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Xinjiang Work Forum Marks New Policy of ‘Ethnic Mingling’
The recently concluded Central Work Forum on Xinjiang (zhongyang Xinjiang gongzuo zuotanhui) marked a subtle yet significant departure in the Chinese Communist Party’s approach to ethnic policy. Economic development remains a top priority; yet the new generation of Party leaders understands that money alone will... MORE
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Will Russia Annex Abkhazia and South Ossetia?
Against the backdrop of the quickly unfolding situation in Ukraine—the annexation of Crimea and the guerrilla war in eastern Ukrainian—there are growing fears in Georgia that Russia will also use similar techniques, including elections or referenda, to annex Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgian politicians and... MORE
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Putin’s Smart Defense: Wars, Rumors of War, and Generations of Wars (Part Two)
Russia’s response to the EuroMaidan, which dislodged president Viktor Yanukovych’s government, utilized a broad range of political and military tools leveraging Moscow’s influence in shaping the future of its close neighbor. It caught Western governments by surprise, stunned critics, silenced analysts, and left the public... MORE
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Ukraine’s Crisis: Poroshenko’s First Lesson
On May 27, Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaliy Yarema promised journalists that the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) being conducted in the country’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions (Donbas) would be greatly intensified shortly following Petro Poroshenko’s inauguration (Interfax-Ukraine, May 27). However, during his inauguration speech... MORE
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Police Portray Civilian Dissenters as Insurgents, Russian Analyst Asserts
At 3 a.m., on June 9, a car blew up on the road that connects the Dagestani villages of Kupa and Gunib. Two people, identified as Mukhtar Agaev and Shapi Nurmagomedov, died in the explosion. Both were residents of the village of Sagratl in Dagestan’s... MORE
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Are There Possible Future ‘Crimeas’ in Central Asia?
On May 21, two people were killed by law enforcement officers in Tajikistan’s eastern city of Khorog (the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, located in the eastern half of Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains region). The police opened fire on a crowd that had... MORE
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Slain Rebel Leader in Kabardino-Balkaria Fought in Syria
In the first five months of 2014, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) prevented six terrorist attacks and killed 130 militants (echo.msk.ru, June 10). The absolute majority of these attacks took place in Dagestan, but there were also special operations in nearby regions that resulted in... MORE
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A Divided Military Fuels Mali’s Political Crisis
Both short- and long-term prospects for renewed stability in Mali’s restive northern region took a heavy blow with the May collapse of the Forces armées du Mali (FAMA) in the face of Tuareg and Arab resistance in the northeastern Kidal region. The collapse reflected long-standing... MORE