Latest Articles about Military/Security
China-Taiwan: An Intelligence Detente?
The ruling party in Taiwan, the Kuomintang (KMT), is engulfed in another intelligence-related gaffe. A string of domino-like events that began with a report in the United Daily News, one of Taiwan's major newspapers with close ties to the ruling party, which reported that a... MORE
The Frozen S-300 Missiles Deal: A Signal to Obama or a Deal with Israel?
Iranian Defense Minister General Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar visited Moscow this week to discus the purchase of sensitive weapons systems, the antiaircraft S-300PMU-1 missiles in particular. According to the daily Kommersant, the contract to sell Iran five S-300 missile divisions was signed "some time ago" and the... MORE
Russia’s Air Force Modernizes for a “Virtual Cold War”
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov confirmed on February 9 that the Ministry of Defense (MOD) has decided to purchase 34 MiG-29SMT Fulcrum fighter aircraft originally intended for delivery to Algeria. The contract agreed upon by Russia and Algeria in 2006 was reportedly worth 25... MORE
Russia’s Arms Sales to Sudan a First Step in Return to Africa: Part Two
In March 2005, an earlier 2004 UN arms embargo on non-government forces in the Darfur conflict was expanded by the UN Security Council to include the Sudan government. Russia approved the passage of UN Resolution 1591, which bans the transfer of weapons to Darfur without... MORE
Russia’s Coming War with Georgia
Six months after the French-brokered agreement ended the Russo-Georgia war on August 12, 2008 the ceasefire continues to be fragile with constant incidents that both sides describe as "provocations." Last month the Defense Ministry of the separatist South Ossetia said Georgia was moving troops towards... MORE
Russia’s Arms Sales to Sudan a First Step in Return to Africa: Part One
Flush with petrodollars and beset by regional insurgencies and a possible resumption of the North-South civil war, Khartoum has become an important consumer of foreign arms despite a widely ignored international embargo. The Sudanese military is embarking on a massive modernization campaign and appears to... MORE
Tashkent and Dushanbe Cautious on CSTO Forces
The announcement in Moscow on February 4, 2009 to activate the CSTO Collective Rapid Deployment Forces and transform them into a more viable, well equipped force structure akin to NATO's rapid reaction force concept masked underlying tensions within the CSTO. These relate to legal issues... MORE
Ankara Carefully Monitors French Plans to Rejoin NATO’s Military Command
Determined to bring Paris into NATO's military command after four decades of opting out, French President Nicholas Sarkozy is expected to announce France's return to NATO's military structures by April, when a NATO summit will mark the 60th anniversary of the Western alliance. Recent reports... MORE
The CSTO: Missions, Capabilities, Political Ambitions
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which adopted decisions to develop Collective Rapid Response Forces at a summit in Moscow on February 4 (see EDM, February 5), owes its existence to Russia's ambition to cast itself as the leader of a political-military bloc on the... MORE
Russia and Kyrgyzstan Playing for High Stakes in Manas
The closure of the strategically important U.S. Manas air base in Bishkek, announced following Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's visit to Moscow for bilateral talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, met with disbelief in the West. Kyrgyz Security Council Secretary Adakhan Madumarov briefing journalists in Moscow... MORE