Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Russia Begins to Fear Conscripts from the North Caucasus
The Russian military does not want to deal with military conscripts from the North Caucasus region and has placed them outside the constitution of the Russian Federation. By applying these exclusionary practices to the North Caucasians, the Russian government is taking yet another step toward... MORE
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Tajikistan Steps up Pressure on Islamic Opposition in Preparation for 2013 Elections
Recently Tajikistan’s government passed several amendments aimed at curbing radical Islam and the threat of terrorism. Among them are amendments to the law “On Combating Terrorism,” which were approved by the parliament. These amendments expand the already considerable powers of the State Committee for National... MORE
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Kazakhstan’s Borders Remain Vulnerable in the Face of Potential Terrorist Threat
The quick succession of alarming incidents at the Arkan Kergen and Tersayryk border posts (see EDM, June 27) revealed deep-running security problems and raised public concerns about the state of Kazakhstan’s border protection. Border authorities and the National Security Committee gave rather confused and often... MORE
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Is Moscow Contemplating a Military Withdrawal from the Northeastern Caucasus?
In March, the Russian military command unexpectedly began redeploying troops from Chechnya to Dagestan. Russian military forces left Chechnya in the largest numbers ever since the start of the second military campaign in the republic in 1999, with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 personnel redeployed.... MORE
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The PKK Strategy to Disrupt Political Negotiations on the Kurdish Issue
Over the last few years, senior officers of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT – Milli Istihbarat Teskilati) have held several meetings with cadres of the separatist terrorist organization Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) in order to find points of agreement for the group’s potential surrender. However,... MORE
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Intervening in Mali: West African Nations Plan Offensive against Islamists and Tuareg Rebels
As Tuareg rebels battle radical Islamists with heavy weapons for control of the northern Mali city of Gao, Mali and the other 15 nations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are planning a military offensive designed to drive both groups out of... MORE
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Are Yemen’s Ansar al-Shari’a and AQAP One and the Same?
Since its emergence in March 2011, analysts and experts have tried to pin down the real shape of Ansar al-Shari’a, the militant Islamist group that established seven Islamic Emirates in southern Yemen after its emergence in March, 2011. [1] While many observers maintain that the... MORE
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Russian Report Questions Missile Defense Myths
The continued standoff and potential risk to US-Russian bilateral relations over the Obama administration’s missile defense plans were recently underscored by Chief of the General Staff, Army-General Nikolai Makarov who stated that “no progress” has been made in ongoing negotiations. On June 28, Makarov explained... MORE
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Islamic Radicalism in Kazakhstan: Myth or Reality?
Prior to the wave of terrorist attacks in 2011, the problem of Islamic radicalism in Kazakhstan was less ubiquitous than in the other Central Asia republics. Kazakhs (who were nomads in the past) are less religious then Uzbeks and Tajiks, and the proportion of the... MORE