Latest Articles about Military/Security
Franco-Russian Warship Deal Receives Winks and Nods in Brussels and Washington
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s US visit has carefully been protected against any fallout from his proposed sale of Mistral-class power-projection warships to Russia. Ahead of Sarkozy’s visit, Moscow moved to embarrass him. It punctured some key French assumptions about this deal and undermined French reassurances... MORE
Rebel Leader Turned Counter-Terrorist: Tuareg’s Ag Bahanga
Western anxiety over the spread of al-Qaeda-style Islamist militancy in the vast and inhospitable Sahara and Sahel regions of northern Africa has had unforeseen consequences for the survival of hardcore nomadic rebels operating in this eternally porous region. For ethnic-Tuareg insurgent leaders like Mali’s Ibrahim... MORE
Russian Analysts Question the Viability of the “Reset”
The announced follow-on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), to be signed by the US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Prague on April 8 has served to re-focus strategic thinking on how the “reset” might further develop and the diversity of... MORE
Chechnya’s Suicide Bombers: Desperate, Devout, or Deceived
Years of war and social upheaval have left the people of Chechnya with nothing but misery and despair. In the second Chechen war, Federal Forces have radicalized the resistance and humiliated the populace by committing widespread human rights abuses against civilians. These actions, combined with... MORE
Arms Control Intersects With Russian Leadership Struggle
With the announcement of a new arms control treaty in the media, the US Senate, and the Duma will naturally focus on issues such as the numbers of warheads and delivery systems, and verification of each side’s capabilities. However, without praising or belittling the treaty,... MORE
Pro-Russian Old Guard, Returns to Run Ukrainian Security Forces
President Viktor Yanukovych and Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov are both ignoring the sensitivities of “Orange” Western and Central Ukraine by returning to positions of power individuals from Leonid Kuchma’s second term in office. Moreover, defectors from the Kuchma regime, who had received asylum in Russia... MORE
North Caucasus Attacks Continue Despite Deaths of Rebel Commanders
The commander of the Russian interior ministry’s internal troops, General Nikolai Rogozhkin, told journalists today (March 26) that up to 500 militants are currently operating in the North Caucasus, most of them aged 25 to 28. However, Rogozhkin added that it is impossible to say... MORE
Turkey Signs Nuclear Deal with South Korea
During the Turkish-Korean joint business forum, held in Turkey on March 10, a protocol was signed to cooperate on Turkey’s second planned nuclear power plant. During the signing ceremony, Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, welcomed this development as a positive step toward bolstering Turkish trade... MORE
Collective Defense in Central Asia Contradicted by Rising National Spending
Despite the impact of the global economic crisis on all of the economies within the former Soviet Union, averaging a 7 percent decline in GDP in 2009, defense spending has increased in each state with the exception of Belarus (which remained unchanged in 2009 year-on-year... MORE
Kadyrov Refuses Police Units From Regions Beyond Chechnya
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has refused the services of policemen assigned to Chechnya (www.kp.ru, March 14). It is his first truly significant move since the counter-terrorist operation (CTO) in Chechnya officially ended on April 16, 2009 (www.rosbalt.ru, April 16, 2009). Kadyrov would not have announced... MORE