Latest Articles about Military/Security
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Brief: South Korea Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency Transfers to Central Asian Jihadists
On January 16, two Uzbek and Kazakh citizens in South Korea were arrested for violating the country’s anti-terrorism funding laws by using cryptocurrency to fund the Syrian al-Qaeda-aligned jihadist group Katibat Tavhid wal-Jihad (KTJ) (Yonhap News Agency, February 16). Their funding of KTJ was, however,... MORE
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Will Iran’s Conventional Army Join the Drone Export Game in Ukraine and Beyond?
Coverage regarding Iran’s growing exports of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including those recently sent to Russia for use in Ukraine, have generally focused on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC, an unconventional force, is known for its support for militants and non-state actors... MORE
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The Haqqani-Akhundzada Rift: Could Civil War Break Out in the Taliban’s Ranks?
On February 11, in a speech at the graduation ceremony of an Islamic religious school in Afghanistan’s Khost province, the Taliban’s powerful Minister of Interior, Sirajuddin Haqqani, alleged the organization’s “power monopolization and defamation of the entire [ruling] system have become common.” He did not... MORE
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The Deradicalization and Parole of Indonesia’s Umar Patek – the Bombmaker of Bali
On December 14, 2022, Umar Patek sat next to his friend and mentor in Indonesia’s deradicalization program, Ali Fauzi, and expressed remorse for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing. Patek further apologized to the families of 88 Australian terror victims in particular, who still... MORE
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After Two Sessions, Xi Turns Focus to U.S. Challenge
On March 10, at the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), Xi Jinping was unanimously "reelected" president (主席) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with 2,952 delegates in the rubber-stamp legislature voting in his favor and zero abstaining or voting against... MORE
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How China Prolongs Myanmar’s Endless Internal Conflicts
Introduction Since 1949, Myanmar has experienced the world’s longest ongoing armed conflict. Following the February 2021 coup, which overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, fighting has intensified, with nearly 3,000 people killed (Reliefweb, January 30). In addition, roughly 1.5 million people have been... MORE
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Belarusian-Chinese Ties Draw Heightened International Attention
From February 28 to March 2, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka paid a state visit to China. Somewhat unexpectedly, the visit attracted enormous international media and political attention (Belta, March 2). The reason for that, however, had more to do with Russia’s war against Ukraine than... MORE
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Russia’s Military Failures in Ukraine a Direct Threat to Abkhazia and ‘South Ossetia’
In February 2023, on the one-year anniversary of its re-invasion of Ukraine, Moscow stepped up relations with the two occupied regions of Georgia—Abkhazia and the so-called “South Ossetia” (Tskhinvali region). For example, mutual working visits have become more frequent. The leaders of the puppet regimes... MORE
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Moving the Goalposts: Russia’s Evolving War Aims in Ukraine (Part Three)
*Read Part One and Part Two Russia basically revised its strategic agenda regarding Ukraine midway through this war. Moscow’s initial agenda aimed to control the whole of Ukraine politically and economically, integrating Ukrainian territory and resources with those of Russia (alongside Belarus) into an anti-Western... MORE
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Moving the Goalposts: Russia’s Evolving War Aims in Ukraine (Part Two)
*Read Part One. Russia’s war aims in Ukraine fall into two main categories: pre-programmed goals, which were announced from the start of the war (still being paid some lip service to date), and opportunity goals, which the Kremlin might have anticipated when planning the war... MORE