February, 2022

• 26 February

  Russia Takes Another Bite at Ukraine

  

  As Vladimir Putin moves his troops into eastern Ukraine, the signs are that worse is yet to come. World governments have condemned the move of Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognise the ‘independence’ of two Moscow-backed self-proclaimed enclaves in Ukraine. Yet the challenge of responding adequately to Russia’s defiance of …

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• 26 February

  Ukraine and Intelligence Prebuttal: A Quick Post-Mortem

  

  While Western intelligence assessments were largely proven correct they are not a substitute for strategy itself. In a pre-dawn television statement, President Vladimir Putin announced a ‘special military operation’, beginning the long-anticipated invasion of Ukraine. This escalation comes at the end of months of conventional military build-up on Ukraine’s border, …

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• 26 February

  A Sombre Hour for Europe

  

  The main immediate goal for the Ukrainian resistance will be to survive. If it can do so, and keep inflicting damage on the occupiers, then Vladimir Putin’s gamble will be on course to fail. A new Iron Curtain across the heart of Europe now seems inevitable. Where that curtain is …

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• 26 February

  Ukraine Through Russia’s Eyes

  

  The Kremlin’s pre-invasion research suggested Ukraine was fertile ground for subversion, but the shock of war may transform Ukrainians’ willingness to resist in unpredictable ways. While the Russian military is capable of defeating the Ukrainian armed forces, the prospect of occupying a hostile country constitutes a major gamble for Moscow. …

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• 26 February

  Anti-Liberal Russian Philosopher Dugin: It Is Not Just About ‘Restoring The Territorial Integrity’ Of The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) And Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), It Is About ‘Ukraine’s Liberation’

  

  On February 24, 2022, anti-liberal philosopher Alexander Dugin, in an article titled “It’s All About Ukraine’s Liberation,” stated that Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine is not only to restore the “territorial integrity” of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR),[1] but is about the “liberation” of …

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• 26 February

  The smell of the revolution: The prospects for reform under the next Iraqi government

  

  In mid-March 2017, roughly five years ago, Iraq was in a very different place. It was before the popular protests that began in October 2019, before the liberation of Mosul and many other Iraqi cities from ISIS control, and before Massoud Barzani announced his referendum to separate the Kurdistan region. …

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• 26 February

  Qatar and global LNG: Potential pivot from Asia to Europe?

  

  For several decades, Qatar was the leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to world markets, primarily in Asia. The Qataris pioneered the high-volume, low-cost, long-term tram line delivery model to creditworthy Asian clients. Qatar is currently one of the world’s top LNG exporters, exporting approximately 77.1 million tons per …

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• 26 February

  Jihadi group takes on Salafist opponents in Idlib

  

  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham cracks down and arrests Salafists who support anti-HTS protests. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, has stepped up its security measures as protests escalate. HTS is particularly targeting its Salafist opponents, who have exploited a number of security incidents carried out by …

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• 26 February

  Live updates: How Russia’s assault on Ukraine affects MidEast

  

  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have an impact beyond Europe. Follow along for the latest updates affecting the Mideast region. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could develop into the largest state-on-state conflict Europe has seen since World War II. But the war’s effects will not be limited to the continent.

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• 26 February

  China Reiterates That Taiwan Is Their Territory, Sends 9 Aircraft To Taiwanese Air Space

  

  While the world looked to Ukraine during its time of crisis amid the Russian invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, his close ally China and Chinese President Xi Jinping has been busy reiterating that Taiwan is part of their sovereign territory after it had previously stated in a UNSC …

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