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Nuclear Iran – how close is it?
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The policy options available to the international community in its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear-weapons capability depend to a great extent on how close Iran is to reaching that goal. There are many unanswered questions about this, particularly about the extent to which technological difficulties and manufacturing bottlenecks pose significant constraints to its uranium-enrichment programme. The evidence is examined in this Strategic Comment.
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Iraq surge assessed |
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Congressional testimony by General David Petraeus, commander of US forces in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, US Ambassador to Iraq, provided an assessment of developments since the US troop surge that candidly acknowledged the obstacles to success. Their statements served to cool the political temperature in Washington, setting the stage for a partial withdrawal of American troops, but also for a substantial presence in Iraq likely to last well into the next administration.
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Russia's uncertain succession |
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President Vladimir Putin spoke about the succession, the future of democracy, his legacy and priorities in a wide-ranging discussion with journalists and analysts including Oksana Antonenko, IISS Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia. In this Strategic Comment, she gives her account and analysis of his remarks.
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VIDEO SPECIAL: Alex Nicoll, Editor of Strategic Comments, discusses the Strategic Comment article Russia's uncertain succession with Oksana Antonenko, Senior Fellow for Russia and Eurasia. Click here for the stream (7.5 minutes).
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China's cyber attacks |
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China was accused in September 2007 of carrying out cyber attacks against the government computer systems of several countries. The allegations, which Beijing denied, brought to the fore the issue of Chinese espionage, a recurrent theme since China embarked on its modernisation programme in the 1980s.
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Shifts in Turkey |
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Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) won a renewed mandate in July elections that were held early following a political crisis. The results, followed in August by the selection of former foreign minister Abdullah Gul as president, indicated shifts in Turkish society and politics that could have significant implications for foreign policy and for the dynamics of Turkey’s position between the West and its neighbours to the East.
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