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Jugement de Coblence: la justice internationale, enfin, montre ses dents

C’est un jour empli d’émotion, de soulagement, mais aussi de colère et de larmes. En condamnant à une peine de perpétuité un tortionnaire syrien, le tribunal allemand de Coblence n’a pas seulement dit le droit. Il envoie aussi un message percutant aux Syriens. C’est la première fois qu’ils voient un …

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Afghanistan Can Be an Opening for U.S. Diplomacy With Russia

On Feb. 15, 1989, Col. Gen. Boris Gromov became the last Soviet commander to leave Afghanistan, crossing the Friendship Bridge into what was then the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Gromov’s departure ended the USSR’s decade-long military occupation of Afghanistan, characterized by some as the country’s version of the Vietnam War. …

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Russia’s ‘Return’ to Africa Is Less Than the Sum of Its Parts

Over the past several years, international policymakers, primarily in the West, as well as journalists and commentators have frequently called attention to Russia’s renewed interest in expanding its footprint in Africa. These discussions of “Russia’s return” to Africa are usually couched in a fearmongering, manichean framework of competition, ostensibly within …

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The U.S. Should Compete With China and Russia—but Wisely

As the Biden administration prepares to release its National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, observers are searching for clues on how those reviews will grapple with the framework of “great-power competition” that anchored the previous administration’s high-level policy documents. That framework has achieved substantial bipartisan traction in the intervening …

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Suspected suicide bombers strike in northwest Syria near Turkish border

At least three people were killed on Thursday in a series of explosions including two suspected suicide bombings in northwest Syria near the Turkish border, witnesses said, in the first such attacks this year. A rescue worker said one civilian was killed after an improvised explosive device went off in …

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NATO Is Focusing on the Wrong Russian Threat in Eastern Europe

As NATO has focused its attention on Russia’s offensive military capabilities in Eastern Europe, an equally significant and, in practice, more problematic issue has been largely ignored: Russia’s preponderance of “anti-access, area-denial” capabilities in the borderlands between the Baltic and Black Seas. Is NATO focusing on the wrong Russian threat …

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The Myths and Realities of European Security in a Post-INF World

On Feb. 2, the United States formally declared its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, treaty. The official declaration, which had been signaled by the Trump administration well in advance, set the clock ticking: Unless Russia unexpectedly returns to full and verifiable compliance with the treaty …

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Rockets Possibly Fired by Pro-Iran Assailants Target U.S. Embassy in Iraq

Four rockets were fired at the fortified compound that houses the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and suspicion fell on pro-Iran militias. Four rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday night, the latest in a series of aerial attacks amid Iranian threats and political violence as Iraq’s factions struggle …

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How a Huge New Gas Pipeline Boosts Russia’s Strategic Entente With China

Natural gas started flowing from Russia to China for the first time on Dec. 2 when Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, officially launched the initial phase of a huge new pipeline known as the Power of Siberia. Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, claims it is expected …

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As the U.S. Disengages, Russia Ramps Up Aid and Arms Sales to Sub-Saharan Africa

In early March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov embarked on a five-country tour of sub-Saharan Africa. During his trip, Lavrov signed new trade agreements with Russia’s two long-standing partners in southern Africa, Angola and Mozambique. He also strengthened Moscow’s diplomatic ties to Zimbabwe’s new government and highlighted the role Russia …

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