In a calculated attack on Russian military science, Army-General Nikolai Makarov the Chief of the General Staff, argued that it has impaired progress (EDM, April 5). Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov coined the phrase in his 1929 book, Mozg Armii (The Brain of the Army) which refers... MORE

On March 18, the Russian press carried the announcement of the Presidium of the Academy of Military Sciences that the Academy’s General Assembly would occur on March 26, devoted to the assessment of the its work in the period 2005-2010. The presidium also stated that... MORE

The Russian security services is now asserting that the massive terrorist attack at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport on January 24, in which 37 people were killed and 120 more injured, will not be the last action carried out by a shahid (martyr) – meaning a suicide... MORE

On March 18, speaking in the presence of President Dmitry Medvedev at the expanded session of the Russian defense ministry collegium, Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov was upbeat about military reform going forward as planned and achieving its goals. Serdyukov boasted “the first most difficult stage”... MORE

After decades of loyalty to Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country’s best known and most controversial Islamic scholar has called for the regime’s downfall and the creation of an Islamic Caliphate in the southern Arabian Peninsula. The defection of the influential Shaykh Abd al-Majid... MORE

Yemeni Major General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar announced on March 21, 2011 that he was joining anti-government protesters in their calls for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down (Mareb Press, March 21, 2011). Ali Muhsin’s defection to the growing protest movement in his country... MORE

Turkey’s position on the unfolding events in Libya has caused a great deal of confusion for observers of Turkish foreign policy. Despite its objections to the use of military force to solve the impending civil war, Turkey has eventually changed course, by agreeing to the... MORE

On March 28, the Russian security forces launched a large-scale assault on militants in Ingushetia.  The Russian air force was used to bomb rebels in the mountainous Upper Alkun area of the republic. Ground operations were carried out in Ingushetia’s largest town, Nazran, and other... MORE

In early March, a group of Russian defense journalists visited military infrastructure in the Russian Far East. In a lengthy article in Moskovskiy Komsomolets, Olga Bozhyeva said she was asked by the defense ministry to visit Transbaykal for one week to see the progress of... MORE

Armenia and Azerbaijan claim that the prospects for resolving their dispute over Karabakh have brightened as result of a fresh meeting by their presidents hosted by their Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev. Each conflicting party claims that the other has adopted a more flexible stance that... MORE