Eurasia

The fate of the Afghan government following the Soviet withdrawal is more complex than sometimes assumed. That has lessons for Kabul today. On February 8, 1988, then-President Mikhail Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union would withdraw its military forces from Afghanistan. That withdrawal began on May 15 and was completed …

Although a significant conflict between NATO and Russia is unlikely, a war of limited aims remains a distinct and dangerous possibility — and in almost any scenario in this context, the conflict will center on the Baltic states. The RAND Corporation’s 2016 report on the Baltic scenario highlighted the region’s …

Retired Maj. Gen. Marcus Hicks and Gen. Sembé Bobo don’t have a lot in common. Hicks led U.S. Special Operations Command, Africa, from 2017 to 2019. Bobo, on the other hand, commands 3R, an armed militia in the Central African Republic. Nevertheless, the two men are on record raising similar …

Russia has long seen the Black Sea as essential for projecting power and influence in the Mediterranean and beyond. Yet protecting Russian interests in the region has come at a cost. Russia’s approach to the Black Sea builds on a centuries-old history of confrontation with Europe’s major powers and on …

The NSA would have used the Danish IT infrastructure to spy on Angela Merkel and other European leaders. The Danish public television DR and other European media on Sunday published an investigation showing that the Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) gave the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) open internet access …

An analysis of the social ties that link a group of young people, radicalised into Jihadism in Spain, to various actors from the global Jihadist movement reveals that the number and strength of such ties has a bearing on why some individuals become involved in terrorist activities while others decide …

Governments and energy companies should follow up a recent decision by Chevron and Total SA to suspend payments from a gas pipeline project in Myanmar with additional steps to cut off funding to the country’s military junta, Human Rights Watch said today. While the May 26, 2021 announcement reflects a …

The nightmare scenario in Afghanistan is the collapse of the government and a Taliban takeover, which some believe to be imminent once the U.S. withdraws. Recent attacks show terrorists and insurgents are able to launch strikes with impunity throughout the country targeting civilians, including women and children. The Taliban’s strategy …

Cairo is ramping up pressure on Addis Ababa again in tandem with Khartoum’s forces. Egypt and Sudan held joint military drills in Sudan this week amid reports that Ethiopia had begun a second filling of its controversial Nile dam. Egyptian ground, naval and air forces, including special forces and paratroopers, …

The EU has long played an active role in seeking an end to Israeli-Palestinian hostilities. Why has it lost this role? The European Union was once viewed as an important and credible actor in the Middle East, even a potential counterweight to the United States. No longer. During the recent …