Latest Articles about Military/Security

Predators, Reapers and Ravens: The Drone Revolution in Tactics and Strategy
With very little discussion, the United States and as many as 50 other nations have inaugurated what amounts to a “drone revolution” that will profoundly change our very understanding of the security environment. There can be no doubt that unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, represent... MORE

In the Age of the Internet Russia Races Several Strains of Radical Islam
There has recently been a spate of news stories in Russia about the Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami organization (Party of Liberation). This organization is on the Russian Supreme Court’s official list of terrorist organizations and thus its activities in the country are banned (www.rg.ru/2006/07/28/terror-organizacii.html). An international... MORE

Moscow Sees Military Threats from All Directions
The outgoing president, Dmitry Medvedev, chaired this week a session of the “expanded Collegium of the Defense Ministry” – a gathering of the nation’s entire top brass. Medvedev and Anatoly Serdyukov, Defense Minister since February 2007, both hailed the success of military reform that began... MORE

Coup d’Etat in Mali
Update 1 (March 23, 2012 2:00pm) - The Malian Army Captain (name unknown), who appears to be leading the coup d'etat, released a video message stating that President Amadou Toumani Toure is safe and unharmed. Toure's location has not been released. On March 21, 2012... MORE

Russia Launches Massive Military Redeployment to Dagestan
On March 18, Russia’s Interior Ministry officially confirmed a massive relocation of ministry troops from Chechnya to Dagestan. The official reason given for the movement of the troops was to “stabilize” the situation in Dagestan. A temporary command was set up in Dagestan to coordinate... MORE

Russia Expands the Role of Army Snipers
In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the Russian military top brass announced yet another planned innovation for the Armed Forces involving the introduction of sniper units in the “new look” Ground Forces’ brigades. Since the fall of 2011, the defense ministry has intensified its... MORE

Security Forces Conduct a Series of Special Operations in Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan
In Kabardino-Balkaria today (March 16), three alleged militants were killed in a shootout with law-enforcement personnel. The incident took place at around 6:40 a.m., local time, on the border between the republic’s Baksansky and Prokhladnensky municipal districts. According to Russia’s Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK), police tried... MORE

The PLA’s Three-Pronged Approach to Achieving Jointness in Command and Control
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to develop a more complex form of joint operations (“PLA Developing Joint Operations Capability (Part One): Joint Task Force Experimentation,” China Brief, May 20, 2011; “PLA Developing Joint Operations Capability (Part Two): Military Training Coordination Zones,” China Brief, June... MORE

Pivot and Parry: China’s Response to America’s New Defense Strategy
On January 5, 2012, President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta released new defense strategic guidance, highlighting U.S. national defense priorities and underscoring America’s determination to maintain its global leadership and military superiority despite budgetary constraints [1]. The strategy indicates the United States... MORE

Sino-Indian Border Negotiations: Problems and Prospects
On March 6, China and India operationalized a coordination agreement to avert conflict along their contested border. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, as the agreement is officially termed, was first broached by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a visit... MORE