Latest Articles about Military/Security
Russian Combat Training Prioritizes the Individual
As the new combat training year in the Russian armed forces began on December 1, senior officials outlined the priorities for the year ahead, while reflecting soberly on annual training results in 2009. The main change envisages concentrating on the individual skills of officers and... MORE
Mistral Procurement Divides Russian Defense Leadership
Those favoring the purchase of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ship from France had placed high hopes on events in late November moving the sale forward. Mistral arrived in St. Petersburg on November 23 to much fanfare. The French sailors proved excellent guests and Russian experts... MORE
Russian President Medvedev Submits Draft Treaty on European Security Architecture
Article 4 of Medvedev’s draft treaty (full text on Russia’s presidential website, www.kremlin.ru, November 30) would create mechanisms to “examine differences and disputes that may arise over this treaty’s interpretation and implementation.” The proposed mechanisms would operate on three levels: first, consultations in variable formats... MORE
Islamic Terrorist Threat in the Crimea
The head of the Crimean Interior Ministry, Gennadiy Moskal, has drafted new legislation to ban extremist groups in Ukraine (Ukrayinska Pravda, October 27). Moskal is also a Kyiv parliamentary deputy from the Our Ukraine-Peoples Self Defense faction (NUNS) and a member of the Peoples Self... MORE
The Security Situation in Dagestan Continues to Deteriorate
The situation in Dagestan, one of the largest republics in North Caucasus, has remained markedly tense. Along with the problem of armed resistance, there are several other burning issues, inter-ethnic tensions being one of them. This issue becomes especially sensitive for the people of Dagestan... MORE
Russian President Medvedev Submits Draft Security Architecture Treaty
On November 30 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted a “Draft Treaty on European Security” for consideration to the heads of state and government of “all states of the Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian space from Vancouver to Vladivostok,” as well as to selected international organizations: NATO, the... MORE
Separatists, Islamists and Islamabad Struggle for Control of Pakistani Balochistan
To say that the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in October 2001 shook Pakistan to its core would be an understatement. Since then, the war in Afghanistan has spilled over into Pakistan on multiple levels. The escalating cycle of violence between Pakistani security forces... MORE
PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan Challenges Omission from Peace Initiative from His Prison Cell
Turkey has been busy debating the recent initiative of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi - AKP) to end the long conflict between Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan – PKK). On November 12, Turkish Interior Minister... MORE
New Strategies in Pakistan’s Counter-Insurgency Operation in South Waziristan
Pakistan’s recent “Rah-e-Nijat” (Path to Salvation) military operation in the South Waziristan agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has achieved tremendous success since it began on October 17. It is believed that security forces should be able to clear the main towns of... MORE
Priorities and Challenges in China’s Naval Deployment in the Horn of Africa
For a few days in mid-November, it looked like the Chinese government was prepared to take the unprecedented step to lead a multinational security operation involving the armed forces of Russia, the United States, the EU, and other countries. Following the seizure of yet another... MORE