The Ukraine Crisis Should Force New Delhi to Rethink Its Russia Policy Ever since Russia began massing troops on the Ukrainian border, the government in Kyiv has been working frenetically to shore up international support. For the most part, it has focused on its partners in Europe and North America. …
Read More »admin
China’s Ukraine Crisis
What Xi Gains—and Loses—From Backing Putin The crisis in Ukraine is exposing the limits of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s foreign policy. Beijing’s global aspirations are now clashing with its desire to remain selectively ambiguous and aloof. Although Chinese leaders may not recognize it, their country’s closer alignment with Russia is …
Read More »The Price of Order
Settling for Less in the Middle East There is no question that the Middle East is a mess. The usual explanations for the disarray, however, fail to capture the root cause. Sectarianism, popular discontent with unrepresentative governments, economic failure, and foreign interference are the usual suspects in most analyses, but …
Read More »Russia-Ukraine is an Information War, So Government Intelligence Needs More Scrutiny Than Ever
The threat of war is difficult to beat when it comes to mending or enhancing a damaged reputation. President Joe Biden and Boris Johnson, both derided as ineffective in domestic policy only a few weeks ago, are now reborn as statesmen capable of guiding their countries through the minefield of …
Read More »Drones pose additional security threats, challenges for Iraq
With drones flying the Iraqi skies for illegal purposes, security authorities face a host of new challenges. In addition to the challenges Iraqi security forces have faced over the years, they now also strive to get control of the new security challenges caused by drones. The Babil Police Command announced …
Read More »Biden Announces ‘First Tranche’ of Russia Sanctions, Predicts ‘Massive’ Invasion of Ukraine
President Biden announced several new economic sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, one day after the Kremlin moved to formally invade two separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine that have long been under the control of its proxies. “This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Biden said. “I’m going …
Read More »Germany freezes Nord Stream 2 gas project as Ukraine crisis deepens
Europe’s most divisive energy project, worth $11 billion, was finished in September. Germany on Tuesday halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany, after Russia formally recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Europe’s most divisive energy …
Read More »Russia’s Lavrov questions Ukraine’s right to sovereignty
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday questioned whether Ukraine had a right to sovereignty because he said the government in Kyiv did not represent the country’s constituent parts, the Interfax news agency reported. “If we talk about the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity, one of the key documents …
Read More »Putin: Minsk agreements no longer exist, we’ll provide military assistance
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a press conference Russia would deploy troops, but it is unclear when. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Minsk agreements, which were intended to end the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, “no longer exist” and that Russia would provide military assistance to separatists, …
Read More »Strengthening Belarus identity could complicate Putin’s soft annexation
A recent poll indicates strengthening national identity in Belarus and a decline in Soviet nostalgia following the country’s national awakening of 2020. The results of the survey represent unwelcome news for Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka as he seeks to steer the country towards ever-closer union with Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The …
Read More »