Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Moscow Promises North Caucasus Billions, as Low-Grade Insurgency Continues
Having failed to re-conquer the North Caucasus using force or realized the high price to be paid for such a conquest, Moscow is attempting to deprive regional nationalists and religious radicals of their social base of support by providing additional financial infusions. In the process... MORE
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Moscow Believes It Has Successfully Isolated Georgia
On August 8 – the third anniversary of the beginning of the short-lived armed conflict with Georgia – the Kremlin press service announced that President Dmitry Medvedev had sent to parliament for ratification two agreements on establishing military bases in the breakaway territories of Abkhazia... MORE
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Hot Issue– The Strategic Implications of the Syrian Uprising: A View from Turkey
Executive Summary:Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime, once considered the Middle East region’s most secure, is showing signs of vulnerability in the wake of the Syria uprisings. Al-Assad’s violent crackdown in recent weeks has emboldened his opponents and driven them to demand that he step aside. While... MORE
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Armenia Plans More NATO-Backed Defense Reforms
In the latest manifestation of its delicate balancing act between Russia and the West, Armenia has announced plans for a further reform of its armed forces stemming from its growing ties with NATO. Undaunted by a possible negative reaction from Moscow, official Yerevan also seems... MORE
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Russian Armed Forces Reform: VDV Experiences Zero Progress
On August 2, the elite Russian Airborne Forces (Vozdushno Desantnye Voiska –VDV) celebrated its 81st anniversary. Senior officers in the VDV commented on their experience of what the defense ministry calls the “new look.” Lieutenant-General Vladimir Shamanov, the Commander of the VDV, confirmed that the... MORE
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Under NATO’s Flag: an Interim Assessment of the Mission in Libya (Part Three)
As in Iraq and Afghanistan, a Western coalition intervened in Libya with only a weak grasp of the local society. The coalition underestimated the resilience of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s base of social support in the country’s west. It seemed blindsided by the complexity of tribal... MORE
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Under NATO’s Flag: An Interim Assessment of the Mission In Libya (Part Two)
NATO embarked almost haphazardly in March on the Libya mission. The Alliance became the third entrant to this mission in a rapid sequence, after the United States and the Franco-British tandem. The respective leaderships never defined the political, economic, or strategic interests in Libya for... MORE
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Insurgency-Related Violence Reported In Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria
Insurgents in the North Caucasus targeted police and local officials in Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria this past week.Three policemen were shot to death in Nazran, Ingushetia yesterday (August 4). The incident took place around 10:30 p.m., local time, when a traffic police patrol car carrying... MORE
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Under NATO’s Flag: An Interim Assessment of the Mission In Libya (Part One)
NATO is only nominally in charge of the stalemated war in Libya. The Alliance’s leader, the United States, was quick to move to a back seat in this operation after having sparked it. Europe’s residual military powers, France and Britain, are mainly in charge of... MORE
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Syrian Unrest Raises Sectarian Tensions in Lebanon
As the turmoil affecting Syria persists with no apparent end in sight, fears about the potential impact of the crisis on Syria’s neighbors remain at the fore. Among all of its neighbors, the complexity that defines Syria’s relationship with Lebanon and the characteristics of Lebanese... MORE