Only 24 hours passed between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s warm welcome to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the presidential palace in Damascus and the attacks on the government buildings in Baghdad that killed dozens and spoiled the development of fraternal relations between the two... MORE

As the U.S. military prepares for rapid disengagement from Iraq following parliamentary elections to be held early next year, growing Arab-Kurdish tensions in northern Iraq over the ownership of “disputed territories” are emerging as the main threat to Iraqi stability. In response to rising violence... MORE

The head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, Aleksandr Bastrykin, said yesterday (October 22) that the number of terrorist acts in the North Caucasus has increased by 57 percent this year. He told a meeting of the committee in St. Petersburg... MORE

Over the last two decades, the oceanic navy that Russia inherited from the Soviet Union has declined in size and quality. There were repeated calls from naval officers over the last decade for new construction and a revival of the navy. On Navy Day July... MORE

Several terrorist attacks have been carried out in Ingushetia and Chechnya this week. Today (October 22), a bomb exploded as Isa Korigov, the head of the criminal police in the Ingush city of Malgobek, was getting into his car with his wife at their home... MORE

The Russian-Iranian deal on advanced S-300 long-range anti-aircraft missiles may go ahead despite U.S. and Israeli objections. This week the Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed government source confirming that the deal to sell Iran S-300 missiles had been “frozen” for several years, but Russia... MORE

For 30 years now, ever since the United States severed formal diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan and recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the U.S. has continued defense cooperation with Taiwan to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan... MORE

On September 15, a task force co-chaired by Senator Charles Robb (D-VA) and Senator Daniel Coats (R-IN) at the Bipartisan Policy Center released a report [1], calling on President Barack Obama to devise a tougher strategy to prevent a nuclear Iran.  The subtitle of the... MORE

Since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government first revealed its Kurdish initiative in cooperation with the other state institutions, including the military and the National Intelligence Service (MIT), many doubted whether it would prove successful. While the opposition parties were arguing against the Kurdish... MORE

On October 1 the Russian defense ministry abolished all the former information structures throughout the armed forces, including within the military districts. Consequently, the press service and information directorate of the defense ministry has emerged as a revamped version of the directorate for information and... MORE