Latest Articles about Military/Security
Another Disaster in the Russian Navy
On November 8 Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov to instigate a full and thorough investigation into a fire on board a nuclear-powered submarine, the latest accident to afflict the Russian navy. Russian officials refused to identify the submarine, but a source... MORE
Coalition Attack Brings an End to the Career of al-Qaeda in Iraq’s Second-in-Command
The U.S. military scored one of its biggest tactical successes against al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) on October 5 by killing Abu Qaswarah, a man identified by both the U.S. military and the rebel Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) as the organization’s commander for Northern Iraq.... MORE
Iran’s Kurdish Militants Under Pressure from Joint Turkish-Iranian Assaults
Until recently, the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (Parti Jiyani Azadi Kurdistan – PJAK), an armed Kurdish separatist group active in Iran, was beginning to emerge as a genuine military irritant to Iran’s government, killing in excess of 100 Iranian security forces per year... MORE
Latin American Narco-Dollars Financing Hezbollah’s Growing Establishment
On October 23, U.S. and Colombian law enforcement agencies announced the break-up of a drug-trafficking ring that channelled part of its profits to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The gang was reportedly involved in distributing cocaine from cartels in Colombia to markets in the United States, Europe... MORE
Persuading the Uncertain and Punishing the Recalcitrant: Al-Qaeda Seeks to Absorb Iraq’s Awakening Councils
There are indications that al-Qaeda’s struggle with Iraq’s U.S.-sponsored tribal Awakening Councils is far from over. An attack on the Baquba home of Awakening Council militia leader Shaykh Abdul Karim Hassan al-Dahlaji on October 29 left three family members dead and 14 others injured. A... MORE
Death of Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat Leader Fails to Halt Rebel Attacks
The position of top commander in Dagestan’s Sharia Jamaat has been vacant for a month now since the death of its former leader Abdul-Majjid on September 8th near the Dagestan-Azeri border during a joint Russo-Azeri special forces operation that lasted over 10 days (www.azeri.ru/papers/echo-az_info/26465). Commenting... MORE
Little Hope in Moscow for a Breakthrough in Relations with U.S.
There seems to be a serious desire in Washington to try to improve faltering relations with Moscow, which were strained by the Russian invasion of Georgia in August. It is expected that the new U.S. administration will try to show its ability to parley and... MORE
A Mujahideen Bleed-Through From Iraq? Part Two – A Look at Lebanon
Lebanon always has been a country whose people are more loyal to family, clan, tribe, and faith than to the concept of Lebanon as a united nation-state. Since 2003, this existing internal divisiveness has been sharpened by the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq and... MORE
India and Pakistan Address Terrorism Issues as Relations Deteriorate
The fourth meeting of the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism (JATM) between India and Pakistan on October 24 in New Delhi remained trapped between diplomatic niceties and hard-nosed positions, adding to the widely held skepticism about the utility of such an exercise. While the Indians were insistent... MORE
Turkey Reorganizes Security Structure to Combat Terrorism
The October meeting of the Turkish National Security Council (Milli Guvenlik Kurulu – MGK) delivered major decisions regarding the reorganization of Turkey’s domestic security structure. In the areas of inter-agency counter-terrorism cooperation and border security, the changes are comparable with those made by the United... MORE