The latest escalation of tensions in the South China Sea has introduced new dynamics in the increasingly complex cross-Strait equation. The newest row over the disputed Spratly islets stands apart from previous conflicts in that it has invited an assertive U.S. response in support of... MORE

Insurgency-related violence was reported in the North Caucasus this past week, particularly in Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria.Two improvised explosive devices were discovered today (June 17) on a gas pipeline in Dagestan’s Derbent district. While one of the devices was being defused, the second one detonated, damaging... MORE

Few in Pakistan doubt that the United States and Pakistan are headed for a total divorce, at least on the question of Pakistan’s counterterrorism strategy in the near future. A strongly-worded press release issued by the Pakistani military’s Inter-Service Public Relations (ISPR) after the 139th... MORE

Three mortars were fired at an American base in eastern Baghdad on June 6, killing five U.S. soldiers. The incident represented the single most deadly attack on U.S. forces since 2009. A week later, two additional U.S. soldiers were killed in southern Iraq. In recent... MORE

On May 31, a group of Afghan cattle raiders stole some 80 cows from a farm in Shurobod district, on Tajikistan’s southern border with Afghanistan. Under the cover of the night, the armed raiders drove the cows across the Panj River, which separates the two... MORE

The recent murder in broad daylight of the former commander of the 160th guard tank regiment in Chechnya, Yuri Budanov, in downtown Moscow once again returned the topic of Chechnya to the minds of the Russian general public. Well before the official police explanations, the... MORE

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan was officially created on June 15, 2001. At the time the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, while the secular dictators of the impoverished, weak and corrupt former Soviet Central Asian “Stan” states were panicking.... MORE

On June 11, the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, met with parents of suspected rebels, along with the heads of municipal entities and law enforcement agencies, in Magas, the republic’s capital. Yevkurov called on the parents of the suspected rebels to convince their children to... MORE

Russian officials from President Dmitry Medvedev and down have recently subjected the US and NATO to a typical diplomatic offensive against missile defenses in Europe. In this offensive Russian spokesmen have reiterated their undying belief that missile defenses threaten Russian nuclear weapons, strategic stability, the... MORE

A wave of high-profile corruption scandals, combined with the reported hemorrhaging of funds from the defense budget has underscored both the scale and demoralizing impact of the culture of kickbacks and “misappropriation” that so bedevils Russia’s defense ministry. Already, the level of loss to the... MORE