Latest Articles about Military/Security
DPP’s Cross-Strait Policy Consistent with “Status Quo”
With Taiwan’s 2012 presidential and legislative elections less than one month away and public opinion polls showing the two presidential hopefuls, President Ma Ying-jeou and Chairwoman Tsai Ing-yen, in a dead heat, Washington and Beijing have been preparing for the possibility of the Democratic Progressive... MORE
Wukan Uprising Highlights Dilemmas of Preserving Stability
Since September, the residents of the Guangdong village Wukan have clashed with authorities over local government land seizures. Last week, however, Xue Jinbo, a village representative trying to negotiate with local officials, died in police custody with reportedly visible signs of torture, such as blood... MORE
Turkey’s Law on Military Service Exemption
On November 30, the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed a law that will allow citizens born before 1983 to avoid military service upon the payment of an exemption. Starting by January 1, 2012, those who comply with the requirements will have a six month-period to... MORE
Russian Government Displays an Ingrained Lack of Novelty In Dealing With the North Caucasus
On December 15, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held his now traditional annual phone-in press conference. During the phone-in, Putin mentioned the North Caucasus 21 times. It appeared that the Prime Minister still credits himself for bringing Chechnya back under Moscow’s control, as he mentioned the... MORE
Putin’s Agenda: The Arctic Revival
Russian foreign policy under Vladimir Putin is increasingly resorting to gunboat diplomacy (see EDM, December 12). However, another key element in Putin’s agenda has been his aggressive campaign to assert Russian interests in the Arctic. The aggressiveness has been manifested in earlier rhetorical exchanges and... MORE
The Turn to Armed Rebellion in Syria: The Rise of the Free Syrian Army
Tensions in the Levant remain at a fever pitch as the uprising against the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad presses ahead into its ninth month in the face of a relentless government crackdown and a rising body count Occurring on the back of the... MORE
BRIEFS
TALIBAN SPOKESMAN SAYS LOYA JIRGA REVEALS THE INVADERS’ “SINISTER OBJECTIVE” TO OCCUPY AFGHANISTAN In a recent interview with a Taliban-run news agency, Afghan Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi provided an official response to the recent Kabul Loya Jirga (Grand Council) that approved a continued American... MORE
Insurgency Related Violence Reported in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Ingushetia
The founder of the Dagestani independent weekly newspaper Chernovik, Khadzhimurad Kamalov, was shot to death In Makhachkala late yesterday (December 15). The incident took place around 11:30 pm, local time, near the newspaper’s offices in the Dagestani capital. Kavkazsky Uzel reported that the murder was... MORE
Developments In the North Caucasus In 2011: Moscow Has Little to Cheer About
The end of the year is the time to review the year’s events. In the case of the North Caucasus, we can safely conclude that Russian authorities stopped hiding the fact that the situation in the region is alarming (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/195952/) and there are no signs... MORE
Belarus: A New Army and Deeper Integration With Russia
November 2011 witnessed interesting developments in Belarus: the announcement of the formation of a territorial army by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and a new advisory body called the Council for the Development of an Informational Society (CDIS), run by an existing Operative-Analytical Center and headed by... MORE