Latest Articles about Military/Security
All Eyes on China in Wake of Cheonan Sinking
China’s longstanding relationship with North Korea has come under greater international scrutiny since the March 26 sinking of the 1300-ton South Korean corvette Cheonan near the de facto maritime boundary between North and South Korea. The apparent torpedo attack killed 46 of 104 sailors aboard... MORE
Multiple Problems Plague Kremlin Plans for 2014 Sochi Olympic Games
On May 21, protest actions and tributes to the war victims of the Russia-Circassian war took place worldwide. Marking 146 years since the end of the war in 1864, Circassian activists took to the streets in Turkey, the United States, Europe and Israel, where there... MORE
Plans for Defense Industry Westernization Meet Resistance
A meeting this week in the Kremlin to discuss defense spending and procurement plans, chaired by President Dmitry Medvedev and attended by key ministers, defense, security chiefs and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is reported to have decided that if the national GDP grows by 3-6... MORE
From Jihad to Human Rights: The Life and Death of Taliban Middleman Khalid Khawaja
Khalid Khawaja was found dead adjacent to a stream in the town of Karam Kot, North Waziristan on April 30, 2010 with a note pinned to his bullet-pierced body that read, “He was a U.S. agent and whoever spies for America will meet the same... MORE
Admiral of the Desert – Muhammad Omar Osman and the Ogadeni Rebellion
The ceaseless destruction of Somalia by internecine clan warfare, sectarian conflict and foreign intervention continues to garner headlines in the international media; yet across Somalia’s border with Ethiopia there is an ongoing conflict involving ethnic Somalis in a remote and inhospitable region that has had... MORE
A Portrait of Abderrazzak al-Para: GSPC’s Mystery Man in the Maghreb
Amari Saifi, better known as Abderrezak al-Para (The Parachutist), was a rising star in the Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, GSPC (Groupe Salafiste pour la Prédication et le Combat). However, his path as an Islamist militant leader was cut short when he was... MORE
The FSB Returns to Ukraine
After the second round of Ukraine’s 2010 elections, Russia demanded that President, Viktor Yanukovych, undertake measures to improve relations between both countries. Moscow demanded that Yanukovych re-admit the Federal Security Service (FSB) to the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) and “end all cooperation with the Central... MORE
Rebels Mount Small-Scale Attacks Across the North Caucasus
Violent incidents have been reported across the North Caucasus over the last several days. A businessman was shot and killed yesterday (May 23) in Dagestan’s capital Makhachkala. The victim was identified as one of the owners of a large media holding, but was not named.... MORE
Rebel Attacks on the Rise in Kabardino-Balkaria
The uneasy situation in Russia’s Kabardino-Balkaria republic in the troubled North Caucasus region has been making headlines over the past month. Most often it is about armed assaults and explosions against Russian law enforcement officers (siloviki). The initial festive mood of the Russian authorities after... MORE
Renegade Generals Threaten Unity of South Sudan’s SPLA as Independence Referendum Approaches
As the January 2011 referendum on independence for oil-rich South Sudan approaches, ongoing mutinies and indiscipline within the South’s military may create conditions of insecurity that threaten to delay the long-awaited plebiscite. Khartoum has little interest in seeing its main source of revenue separate and... MORE