Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Georgia Provides More Security Than it Consumes
Addressing the annual international security forum in Munich –the highest-level NATO event between the Alliance’s summits–Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, had the temerity to talk strategy. His address stood out in this year’s forum (February 5, 6), which focused on issues relating only indirectly to NATO... MORE
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The Maidan on the Tahrir Square is Bad News for Putin
Russian mainstream media provides extensive coverage of the unfolding revolution in the streets of Cairo, in contrast with China where the word Egypt is banned from the news and blocked in the Internet. Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, is not known for his surfing skills but... MORE
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Sudden Death of Ethnic Minority Champion in Dagestan Raises Suspicions
On February 5, it came to light that Magomed Gamzatov, the outspoken leader of the Didoi (aka Tsez) minority in Dagestan, died under suspicious circumstances. The Didoi people and Gamzatov made headlines in Russia in December 2010, when they requested protection from the Georgian government... MORE
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Gogol’s “Nose” and Reversing Russian Military Officer Downsizing
Nikolai Gogol’s satire “Nos” (The Nose) based on a St. Petersburg official’s nose separating from its owner and assuming an adventurous life of its own, fits the seemingly inexplicable shifts and twists in the current effort to reform Russia’s conventional armed forces. It seems that... MORE
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Muqtada al-Sadr and Iran Use “Soft Power” to Pursue Objectives in Iraq
The return of Muqtada al-Sadr to Iraq after more than three years of self-imposed exile and his unexpected January 21 departure for Iran only two weeks later have provoked speculation over the security implications of his activities in Iraq and his precise relations with Iran... MORE
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Fresh Violence Threatens to Make Karachi the New Mogadishu
Karachi, Pakistan’s most populous city and its commercial capital, is yet again in the throes of violence. With Karachi generating 68% of the government’s revenue and 25% of the country’s gross domestic product, the implications for Pakistan are serious. The first three weeks of 2011... MORE
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Five Policemen Shot to Death in Kabardino-Balkaria
Insurgency-related violence –and, apparently, simple criminal violence– continued in the North Caucasus this week, particularly in the republics Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan.In Kabardino-Balkaria, four gunmen charged into a café in the town of Chegem on February 2 and shot a group of traffic policemen who were... MORE
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Rebel Attacks in Kabardino-Balkaria Skyrocket
Amid reports by the Russian government that militant activity in Kabardino-Balkaria has increased four to five times (www.rosbalt.ru/2010/11/29/794929.html) –more than anywhere else in the North Caucasus region– local authorities are trying to belittle the role of rebel fighters against the backdrop of economic plans for... MORE
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Ukraine Fails to Deliver Personnel Carriers, Aircraft to Iraq on Time
A $550 million contract for Kyiv to deliver 420 BTR-4 armored personnel carriers and six An-32 light military transport planes to Iraq, which was concluded in 2009, faces a crisis. Ukrspecexport, the Ukrainian state-controlled arms exporter, hoped that the first BTR-4’s shipped under the contract... MORE
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Slashed Russian Officers Re-called to Military Service and Promised Double Pay
This week a special meeting chaired by President, Dmitry Medvedev, with Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, and the entire top Russian leadership in attendance made a final decision to enact a massive military pay increase beginning in January 2012. Defense Minister, Anatoliy Serdyukov, announced “a lieutenant... MORE