May 2006

Liberian president hopes to inspire Sirleaf, elected Africa's first female president in November after years of war and dictatorship, called for reviving old leadership traits in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London think tank. Sirleaf lamented how Africa's "nationalistic, selfless and visionary" post-independence leaders had given way to a generation of military rulers who often "terrorized, dehumanized and impoverished" their peoples.
Liberian president on Britain investment tour The president is expected to use this week's visit to encourage British companies to invest in Liberia. Over the three days, she is to hold talks with International Development Minister Hilary Benn, leader of the House of Lords Valerie Amos and Minister for Africa Lord Triesman. Among other engagements, she is due to speak at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
Goff to Viet Nam, Singapore, Malaysia After the APEC meeting, Mr Goff will don his Defence hat to attend the International Institute of Strategic Studies Asia Security Conference in Singapore and a meeting of Five Power Defence Arrangement ministers in Kuala Lumpur. "The ISS is the only annual formal meeting of Asia-Pacific defence ministers. At least 20 defence ministers will attend the conference, along with leading security analysts from US, UK, Australia, Canada and key Asian nations. It provides an excellent opportunity...
Italy, S Korea latest to abandon coalition Increased instability, violence and radical Islamism in Iraq could require "a larger role for overt, coordinated, multilateral intervention, involving the key regional powers, to stabilize the situation," defense analyst Christopher Langton of the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies warns in a new report, Military Balance 2006.
Birth of a military giant in modern China According to the Pentagon, several aspects of China's military development have "surprised" US analysts, including the speed and scope of improvements to its strategic nuclear missiles. Another worry is Beijing's focus on ways of striking the US aircraft carrier groups that would intervene in any conflict over Taiwan. By coincidence, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies released its latest assessment of the world's armed forces last week. It, too, used the...
Liberia's president arrives in Britain Also Wednesday, she would give a public lecture to the London-based defense think tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Defense Spending in Latin America Some of the top spenders on defense in Latin America last year: _ Brazil: $13.2 billion, regular defense budget. _ Colombia: $6.3 billion, includes regular defense budget, other military spending, costs of police agencies and U.S. military aid. _ Chile: $3.8 billion , includes defense budget, additional military funding and costs for national police. _ Mexico: $3.1 billion , defense budget. _ Argentina: $1.7 billion , defense budget. _ Venezuela: $1.4 billion, regular defense budget. Does not...
Tehran Working On Advanced Nuclear Fusion Another nuclear expert, Mark Fitzpatrick of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, says the motive behind Sadat-Hosseini's statement is Iran's desire to display technical achievement. "It is part of an effort both to demonstrate for domestic consumption their technological prowess and to build an image of a country that is far along in nuclear technology, so as to persuade the rest of the world that they cannot be rolled back to zero in terms of stopping their...
Venezuela spending billions on defense Defense economist Mark Stoker says the deals so far don't appear to be a significant buildup; Venezuela is not spending as much as Brazil and Colombia. "My interpretation is that Venezuela had a certain amount of aging military equipment and needed to replace some of that" using its windfall oil profits, said Stoker of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Defence diplomacy redefined If last year saw Mukherjee unveil a bold new defence framework with the US, Mukherjee’s travels to Tokyo, Beijing and Singapore now highlight India’s emerging role in Asian security management. After unveiling a sweeping new agenda of bilateral defence cooperation with Japan, Mukherjee headed for China on a mission to deepen mutual military confidence. From Beijing, he will visit Singapore to attend the annual Shangri La Security Dialogue organised by the London-based International...
Al-Qaeda Recruitment Efforts Hard To Root Out Christopher Langton of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London says the majority of insurgents in Iraq do not come from Europe, but from the Middle East and South Asia. He estimates the European recruits to number only about 1,000 -- or some 5 to 10 percent of the total.
London think tank: Iran nukes inevitable Iran's claim to have joined the nuclear club is "surely exaggerated," according to Dr. John Chipman, the director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). However, "There is a consensus emerging that an Iranian nuclear capability is both inevitable and certainly bad," Chipman said last week at the launch of "The Military Balance 2006," the London think tank's annual assessment of the military capabilities and defense economics of 169...
Aegean incident As the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies warned this week of the "dangerous triptych of Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran" and defence experts spoke of deteriorating global security, simultaneous events in the eastern Aegean reminded that deep-seated tensions remain closer to home. The IISS's Military Balance 2006 report, and comments made at its publication, sketched credible scenarios in which a lethal cocktail of nuclear proliferation, involving unstable regimes...
Who's Got the Biggest Army? The annual world military study of the International Institute for Strategic Studies was released this week, with the London-based organization noting that: - While Iran has been exagerrating its nuclear capacity, it may be able to produce a bomb by 2010; - Iran is also developing the capability to block the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and controls oceangoing traffic to and from the oil-rich Gulf states; - Recent Taliban attacks on foreign...
Military to undergo 15-year revamp Mr Liu defended China's military policy at a briefing yesterday, saying Beijing had the right to increase spending.He also denied accusations made in a report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, which said China's military spending was 1.7 times higher than officially stated.
Neighbours' falling-out worries Asia China's military spending might be about 1.7 times higher than officially stated and will continue to rise sharply, an international think tank said on Wednesday. The International Institute for Strategic Studies assessment came a day after the Pentagon said China's military build-up had altered power balances in Asia and the Pacific, and called on Beijing to explain its actions. In its research, the London think tank focused on 2003. It estimated Chinese military-related spending for that year...
34 countries involved in WMD exercise Analysts say the exercise will not only help increase preparedness for stopping illegal shipments that Iran could use in a weapons programme, but the show of multinational forces co-operating in Turkey will send the message that most of the world is united against Iran possessing those weapons.“Iran already has most of what it needs for a nuclear weapon, but it continues to try to procure foreign components that would allow it to reach that capability faster and better,” said Mark...
China's Rising Defense Spending Dangerous The true level of China's total defense expenditure — suggested as being two or three times higher than the official budget — is worrying news for both the United States and regional military balances in the Asia-Pacific, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said Wednesday. In its "Military Balance 2006," the London-based think tank outlined that using "'official" publicized figures alone, China's defense budget has grown, in real terms, by 96...
N-deal or not, ties with US will be intact "But the fact is that the Indo-US Nuclear agreement deals with an issue which is very sensitive in nature and attracts a great deal of attention and therefore, whether it goes through or not, will have an impact, at least, on our abilities to take forward many other aspects of the Indo-US relations," he said addressing the International Institute for Strategic Studies on "India and the Emerging World Order".
EU struggling to agree on immigrantion policy "For many migrants, it is the question of security," said Jean-Yves Haine, EU expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "Development aid can go some way. But there are immense problems of security in these countries which the governments themselves will have to tackle with support from the EU and other institutions."