One distinguishing hallmark of Russian defense reform is the unpredictable and apparently indiscriminate manner in which it is implemented. This approach leaves officers wondering about their future and where the next “surprise” might surface. The latest “victim” in this unstoppable process was the GRU Spetsnaz... MORE

On October 26, the Russian president’s envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District, Aleksandr Khloponin, held his first live TV press conference. Khloponin expressly blamed instability in the region on the security services of Western countries, stating that the situation in the North Caucasus was... MORE

The outgoing chief of the Tripura state police, Pranay Sahay, informed the public during a briefing on October 11 that the top militants of the state are still operating from neighboring Bangladesh, but their strengths are fast dwindling due to the positive approach of the... MORE

Bomb disposal experts in the Chechen capital destroyed a large improvised explosive device in a controlled explosion today (October 29).  Police discovered the bomb in the village of Katayama in Grozny’s Staropromyslovsky district based off of information provided by a detained rebel accomplice.  The device... MORE

On the humanitarian situation, CAP’s study (Center for American Progress,“A New Approach to the Russia-Georgia Conflict,” October 2010, www.americanprogress.org) recommends US support for easing the movement of people and goods across demarcation lines between the secessionist territories and the rest of Georgia. “Ideally,” this would... MORE

It appears increasingly clear that al-Qaeda is intent on striking in India.  In fact, the organization provided assistance in the 2008 Mumbai attacks and may already have been connected to bomb strikes this year. India has remained largely untouched by al-Qaeda directed violence, but the... MORE

The attack perpetrated by four Chechen suicide bombers or shahids in downtown Grozny on October 19th, 2010 struck everyone by surprise. An explosion occurred early in the morning around 8:45 in the fenced yard of the Chechen parliament building killing two police officers on duty... MORE

Former US administrations of both parties formulated their policies toward Georgia in a context of European and Euro-Atlantic interests. Viewing Georgia (along with Azerbaijan) as a strategic asset for energy transit to Europe and for Allied outreach to Asia, those US administrations led the way... MORE

A number of British newspapers have reported from Brussels quoting NATO sources that “Russia has agreed to return to the war in Afghanistan at the request of Western states.” A “groundbreaking agreement” with Russia may be announced at the NATO summit next month in Lisbon,... MORE

Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, on the margins of the Mediterranean Climate Change Initiative conference near Athens last week. The positive reporting of the Erdogan-Papandreou meeting marks the deepening rapprochement between the two countries, after their normalization slowed... MORE