June 2005

Too soon to tell how Iran N talks to play out "The fundamental dilemma is the same," non-proliferation expert Gary Samore of London's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) told AFP. "The Iranians have made it clear" that if a proposal the European Union is to make in late July or early August "doesn't include a provision for Iran to produce nuclear fuel, then the Iranians are threatening to break the suspension of uranium enrichment," which they started in November to launch the talks with the...
Fortress Singapore "You can never rule out the possibility of an attack but I would be extremely surprised (if it happened)," said Dr Tim Huxley, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies."Singapore is such a hard target that it is extremely likely to deter terrorists from thinking seriously about attacking this event because Singapore has been proactive in the war against terrorism."
Vietnamese Defence Institute visit Britain The delegation met with the deputy commander-in-chief and commander of the Air Force of the British Army and visited the Royal Institute for Defence and Security Studies, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Institute for Defence Studies, the Royal School for Defence Studies and the Royal Military Institute.
U.S. Leaders Underscore Rising China Threat In a speech in Singapore June 4, Rumsfeld depicted China in terms reminiscent of the Soviet Union. Although the Cold War is over, this region, unfortunately, is still burdened by some old rivalries, and military budgets are escalating in some quarters, Rumsfeld said. Chinas emergence is an important new reality in this era.
Reforms curb Turkey's armed forces Three times troops have toppled democratically elected governments -- in 1960, 1971 and 1980. In 1997 pressure from the general staff compelled an Islamist government to resign in what was called a "postmodern" coup. "The military is regarded as a backup system," said Gareth Jenkins, a senior consultant for the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "It doesn't want to run the country, it just wants it to be governed in an acceptable way."
U.S. Chooses Stability Over Quick Reform "The religious parties would quickly overwhelm the secular opposition groups," said Gary Samore, a White House advisor during the Clinton administration who works at the International Institute of Strategic Studies here. "They just don't have the numbers."Samore and others noted that the administration's efforts to support reform in the Middle East differed considerably from earlier U.S. experiences in Asia and Latin America. In those instances, experts note, it was...
Diplomats:Iran elections -nuclear inspections Non-proliferation expert Gary Samore, a former US government official who now heads research at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think tank, said "everybody thinks that Rafsanjani is going to win." But he said that in any case, it is not the president who has been determining Iran's nuclear position. The outgoing head of state, the moderate Mohammad Khatami, "had very little authority anyway," he said.
Averting Disaster Not everyone praises the agreement. For example, Nicky Oppenheimer, a South African and chairman of De Beers, speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, quickly branded the deal "a handout," when what Africa needs is "a hand up," especially through improved terms of trade with the industrialized world. Improved terms of trade would certainly be welcome, and they will be discussed at Gleneagles, along with dramatic increases in foreign-aid...
Middle East: Fatal Crash Proves U-2 Spy Plane As London-based military aviation expert Andrew Brooks notes, the U-2 has much greater flexibility in intelligence gathering. Satellites operate in fixed orbits and cannot linger to make extra observations. And, of course, the spy plane has been radically updated over the years in terms of the equipment it carries."This is virtually a different airplane. It is still called a U-2, but in many ways it is nothing like it. The systems are completely altered," Brooks says.
Patience with North Korea wearing thin US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told an Asian security conference in Singapore this month that Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions "threaten the security and stability of the region, and because of their record of proliferation, it threatens the world". He said that given North Korea's record in selling ballistic missile technologies, as well as trafficking in illegal drugs and counterfeit currency, "one has to assume that they will sell anything and that they would be willing to...
China's Looming Threat Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld foreshadowed the report at an International Institute for Strategic Studies conference in Singapore, June 4. He asked some tough questions of Beijing's intentions, "Why this growing investment? Why these continuing large and expanding arms purchases? Why these continuing robust deployments?" he wondered. The answer seems clear, Beijing is the strategic competitor to the United States that President George W. Bush noted when he first took office.
East Africa: let G-8 open markets now Last week, Nicky Oppenheimer, the respected chairman of South African mining giant De Beers, observed, "It is more politically expedient to pour aid into Africa than for Europe and America to cut farm subsidies that enable their own farmers to dump their produce into the continent and impoverish African producers." The point here is that debt relief should be given as part of a comprehensive package encompassing greater levels of aid and trade access to the markets of developed...
Britain hopes allies can begin transferring "I would hope we could begin the process of passing the lead to the Iraqi security forces themselves within six months to a year," Reid said during an interview on ITV1 television. "Now that process may not be completed for a much longer time, but they now have more trained Iraqi army personnel than we have in the international community in there. They are taking the lead," he said. The defense secretary was indicating he disagreed with estimates by the International...
Call to Respect Harry's Privacy Dr Reid was also asked about an Institute of Strategic Studies estimate that it could be up to five years before Iraqi forces are capable of maintaining security. Expressing disagreement with this figure, he said: I would hope we could begin the process of passing the lead to the Iraqi security forces themselves within six months to a year. Now that process may not be completed for a much longer time, but they now have more trained Iraqi army personnel than we have in the...
Cooperative approach to maritime security Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill said the initiative was developed as part of a two-day security seminar held in Manila this week to look at ways Australia can work more closely with the Philippines on strategic maritime security issues. The seminar follows talks between Senator Hill and Philippines Secretary for National Defense Avelino Cruz at the Fourth Asia Security Conference (Shangri La Dialogue) hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies earlier this month as well as...
Pentagon delays report on Chinas Defence This years report was expected to be released last week following Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfelds remarks at a security conference in Singapore over the weekend. Summarising the conclusions of the Pentagon report, he had queried the need for Chinas increased defence spending. It is estimated that Chinas is the third largest military budget in the world. Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: Why this growing investment?
Obstacles trip up African prosperity South African Nicky Oppenheimer, the chairman of the diamond-mining DeBeers Group, said in a London speech Monday that Africa for too long has been treated as a charity case, a view that obscures investment and trade opportunities. "It is no accident that those countries... which have grown fastest in recent years, such as Mozambique and Botswana, owe their growth not to aid, but to business," he said.
Suicide bombers as political weapons "We are seeing more and more saying, 'Get the troops out,'" he said this week. "They are getting the continuing portrait of an insurgency that just doesn't quit. Six months ago, 65 percent of Americans were saying the war could meet its goals; now only 46 percent are saying that." London's International Institute of Strategic Studies says American troops will be needed for six more years.
US experts dispute Africa aid's effectiveness "Aid is the one commodity Africa has never been short of, and it has failed dismally time and time again," De Beers Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer said in a speech in London, which was replayed in Washington on Wednesday at a forum of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Need for Lockheed's fighter jets questioned "The F-22 is brilliant at winning the air battle. It really is Buck Rogers stuff," said Andrew Brookes, a former British Royal Air Force pilot who's senior aerospace analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "The question is, do you want Buck Rogers in the second decade of the 21st century, because who are you going to fight - China? Mars?"