December, 2022

• 23 December

  Great Power Use Of Lawfare: Is The Joint Force Prepared? – Analysis

  

  The joint force is in a period of introspection, realizing, after two decades of counterinsurgency operations, that it has lost its monopoly on power. When military professionals and scholars discuss the ways the character of war has changed, they focus most on the blurring of traditional elements of conflict—that is, the …

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• 23 December

  Putin tells security services to find ‘traitors and spies’: Media

  

  Russian President also ordered strengthening of Russia’s borders and safety of residents in annexed regions of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the strengthening of Russia’s borders and instructed security services to keep greater control of society and root out “traitors, spies and saboteurs”, the country’s news agencies have …

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• 23 December

  Which European nations are handling the energy crisis best?

  

  France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Greece are doing some things right, but face challenging times ahead, say experts. Tax breaks. Reduced electricity use. And a desperate hunt for alternative sources of gas. Europe is grappling with one of its biggest energy crises in memory, just as the cold, dark days …

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• 23 December

  Iranian, Saudi FMs meet in Jordan after months of stalled dialogue

  

  The Iranian-Saudi dialogue stalled earlier this year amid the protests in Iran and political tensions in Iraq. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in Jordan Wednesday.  The two top diplomats are in the country for the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and …

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• 23 December

  Iraqi PM stresses need for regional reconciliation at summit in Jordan

  

  Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani attended the second round of the Baghdad conference today in Jordan and expressed Iraq’s willingness to push forward on regional cooperation and partnership. Jordan hosted the second round of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership today, with the participation of regional and European …

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• 23 December

  US targets Iran’s prosecutor general, military officials with new sanctions

  

  The US Treasury Department also designated a company manufacturing riot gear for Iran’s law enforcement. The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled new sanctions on Iranian officials, including the senior official overseeing the prosecution of protesters, as the nationwide anti-government demonstrations in Iran continue into their fourth month.  The US Treasury …

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• 23 December

  Zelenskyy thanks ‘every American,’ sees ‘turning point’

  

  Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy told cheering U.S. legislators during a defiant wartime visit to the nation’s capital on Wednesday that against all odds his country still stands, thanking Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is “not charity,” but an “investment” in global security and democracy. The …

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• 23 December

  Explosion in northern Iraq kills two soldiers, injures three

  Two soldiers were killed and three were injured in an explosion in northern Iraq, Iraqi state news said Thursday. The soldiers were traveling in an army vehicle a day earlier in the Makhmour district when an explosive device detonated, the state Iraqi News Agency reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility …

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• 22 December

  Is Democracy On The Wane? – OpEd

  

  The Russian invasion of Ukraine coupled with Chinese muscle flexing comparable to a superior Power demonstrating the capacity of illiberalism to deliver goods to the needy more quickly than the democratic countries can do is an eye opener. Illiberal regimes can do because for example Xi Jin Ping’s Communist Party …

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• 22 December

  China In The Middle Ground Between Middle Eastern Rivals – Analysis

  

  In December 2021, United States intelligence claimed China was helping Saudi Arabia develop ballistic missiles. Washington feared the Saudis were abandoning them in pursuit of a closer partnership with China. For some US policymakers, this pointed to the growing threat of China displacing the United States as the principal external power in the …

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