Kazakhstan has taken steps to protect and counteract any potential terrorist threat to the establishment of a nuclear fuel bank, though authorities continue to express concern about a wider and non-specific terrorist threat within the country. On April 4, Foreign Minister Erlan Idrisov stressed that... MORE

Since March 21, new year’s day or “Newroz” for Kurds and Central Asian nations, Turkey has been witnessing a historical transformation in its decades’ old Kurdish question. On this day, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a terrorist organization that... MORE

At 4 a.m. on March 28, President Vladimir Putin delivered a sealed letter to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordering him to launch at once unscheduled maneuvers involving not just the Black Sea Fleet but air and airborne forces and the Army. The exercises wound down... MORE

Kazakhstan’s mediation role in Iran, which resumes today, is not unique. Astana has striven to resolve conflicts throughout its Eurasian neighborhood.  To this end, at the end of March, Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov visited Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to engage in some shuttle diplomacy to... MORE

A shootout occurred on March 21, on the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, between armed Afghans and residents of the Shuroabad District (in southwestern Tajikistan). Four people died. According to local residents, three armed Afghan smugglers entered Dekhi Qozi village. They took four local residents... MORE

The drawdown of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) combat forces from Afghanistan by 2014 will limit the future potential of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN). Moreover, the withdrawal has left defense planning staffs among International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) members trying to resolve the conundrum... MORE

On March 17, the Iranian navy launched a new Jamaran-2 destroyer in the Caspian Sea. The Iranian establishment, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Hassan Firuzabadi, attended the ceremony. This destroyer was developed and... MORE

Over the past several months, various sources have raised the issue of Chechen involvement in the armed uprising in Syria. Few doubt that Chechens have been present in the conflict-ridden country. The question is how central their position is in the anti-Assad armed opposition.First of... MORE

A special operation in the Makhachkala suburb of Semender that lasted from the morning of March 20 to the evening of March 23 illuminated both a lack of skills in the Russian security services and a lack of control over the situation. It is hard... MORE

New Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary, Central Military Commission (CMC) Chairman and PRC President Xi Jinping’s early interactions with the PLA Second Artillery Force (PLASAF) have sparked a considerable amount of speculation about the future of China’s strategic missile force under his leadership. Late... MORE