December 2007

December 30th - - Sunday Times - That assassins strike killed the Wests foreign policy too "It appears that Russia has decided that there is no longer a political reason to hold up the provision of fuel," said Mark Fitzpatrick, nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "An important factor was probably the continuation of the International Atomic Energy Agency's work with Iran on questions about its past activities. The recent report from US intelligence in the National Intelligence Estimate that Iran was not actively seeking a...
December 30th - - Agence France Presse - Le terrorisme islamiste n'a pas désarmé en 2007 Dans son rapport annuel, le prestigieux International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) de Londres a estimé que "la menace du terrorisme islamiste reste plus importante que jamais et semble empirer". Al-Qaïda a gagné en "capacité de résistance et d'adaptation (...) Depuis six ans, les Etats-Unis et leurs alliés luttent pour éradiquer cette menace et il est de plus en plus clair qu'ils n'y ont pas réussi".
December 30th - - Hindustan Times - Snaring the N-Jihadi This thesis has been supported by a recent study of A.Q. Khan's nuclear black market operations by the International Institute for Strategic Studies and a book, The Nuclear Jihadist, by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins. Both conclude the fragmented nature of Pakistan's polity allowed Khan to sell nuclear secrets freely. "The diffusion of domestic political power among the troika of the President, Prime Minister and the Army Chief, obscured the command and control authority over the...
December 30th - - St Petersburg Times - Iraq's progress hard to define But even the police chief says Basra -- Iraq's main port and second-largest city -- is a lawless nightmare dominated by Shiite militias that are better armed than the security forces. Islamic radicals have killed or chased out most of the city's Christians. And in the past three months, more than 40 women have been murdered for such "un-Islamic" behavior as not covering their hair. "Basra is an awful mess," says Toby Dodge, an expert on Iraq at London's International...
December 28th - - United News of Bangladesh - Climate change brings threats of war and terrorism In September, Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) predicted fears about stability are bound to rise to the top of the agenda. "The security dimension will come increasingly to the forefront as countries begin to see falls in available resources and economic vitality, increased stress on their armed forces, greater instability in regions of strategic import, increases in ethnic rivalries, and a widening gap between rich and poor," it said.
December 28th - - Asian Tribune - Commonwealth condemns Bhutto killing Five months ago Benazir Bhutto was in London and addressed the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) on the "Future of Democracy in Pakistan" during which she said that Pakistan has become a "staging area for al Qaeda" and that the forces of militancy and extremism are launching attacks against NATO from parts of Pakistani territory.She accused the "military dictatorship" of President Musharraf of fuelling extremism by putting in...
December 27th - - Fox News - Security Barrier: Pakistan a More Dangerous Place Without Bhutto I had the privilege of being invited to a private briefing with Bhutto in London before her triumphant return to Pakistan in October. Having just heard Pakistans former army chief Gen. Jahangir Karamats take on practical steps to tackle the strategic challenges posed by Pakistans extremist movement, I was as always fairly underwhelmed with the Pakistan miltarys party line. So I was keen to hear Bhuttos thoughts at a briefing down at IISS on the banks of...
December 26th - - Bahrain News Agency - Bahrain-Iran Cooperation Hailed Irans policy is based on development of its ties with regional countries, a strategy shared by both sides, he explained, pointing out to Iran intensive efforts to establish an FTA with the Gulf states. In this context, he also welcomed his call for security cooperation. Mottaki said he could not attend Manama Dialogue forum last month because he was very busy with other activities.
December 24th - - ANSA - Pena Morte: Studio USA Contro Vittoria Europea a ONU Agli Stati Uniti non piace l'offensiva italiana ad europea contro la pena di morte e per analizzare dinamiche e conseguenze della vittoria che ha portato l'Assemblea generale dell'Onu ad approvare la Risoluzione sulla moratoria delle esecuzioni capitali, il Dipartimento di Stato ha commissionato uno studio del quale il Corriere della Sera di oggi riporta alcuni brani. "Il tema della pena di morte dimostra che esistono due visioni in competizione, che potrebbero provocare nel tempo frizioni...
December 22nd - - Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network - Terrorism is not whitewashed yet London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies issued a report in which it stated that the dangers of extremism are getting more and more dangerous since Al Qaeda succeeded to resist and to accommodate as well as it succeeded to protect essential factors in its attacking capability among which assuring a refuge to the leaders of its operations and to its high Leaderships in the tribal Pakistani regions.
December 21st - - The Australian- Defence policy can't be left to doomsayers We need to be more careful about identifying parts of the world that will be most seriously affected by climate change in a security sense. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, different regions will be affected in different ways but the overall impact is likely to increase the vulnerability of areas that are already prone to conflict, poverty and disease. According to the IISS, there will be moderate but below-average declines in rice yields in South and...
December 21st - - American Forces Press Service - Defense Secretary Gates: Coalitions Critical in Afghanistan, Other Security Mi Visiting Bahrain earlier this month, he pressed countries throughout the Persian Gulf to expand multilateral cooperation so they can better protect the region against threats from Iran and other destabilizing forces. Gates told about 200 senior military leaders from 23 countries at the Manama Dialogue that broader security relationships with closer multilateral ties and cooperation are "an absolute necessity" in light of threats the region faces. Such a framework could help pave the...
December 19th - - Gulf Daily News - Security talks urged He also stressed the importance of bilateral, regional and multilateral negotiations in building a viable security system free from weapons of mass destruction. He was speaking as he delivered a lecture on the Gulf region's security challenges at the invitation of the Paris-based Institut des Etudes Politiques (Institute of Political Studies). The initiative came following the Manama Dialogue conference.
December 19th - - Economist - Russia, Iran and nuclear fuel: Dangerous Liaisons Russia's decision on fuel shipments was made before the NIE was published. Commercial concerns may have tipped Russia's hand, says Mark Fitzpatrick of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, a think-tank. It wants to be seen as a reliable supplier, so as to pick up more reactor contracts from others. Russia, America, some Europeans, Japan and others with advanced nuclear fuel-related technologies also have ideas for fuel-supply services and spent-fuel management as an...
December 19th - - Indo-Asian News Service - India should wield smart power, says IISS expert India is in a unique position to wield 'smart power' as it emerges as a major global player with the potential to contribute to resolving a whole basket of international issues, including nuclear proliferation, and combating terrorism, says top strategic expert Patrick M. Cronin. 'The world would like India to play a more active role in global affairs. India can blend a mixture of hard and soft power. India can wield smart power,' said Cronin, director of The International Institute for...
18th December - - Financial Times - US weighs post-surge troop levels Toby Dodge, an Iraq specialist at Queen Mary University London, said Gen Petraeus would face "a great deal of pressure" to withdraw troops as quickly as possible. But Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution, said the Pentagon would probably conclude the US needed to keep closer to 15 combat brigades in Iraq. "Common sense would say that you would to get some feel for how this is working before you commit to . . . lower force levels than we have at any...
December 18th - - United News of Bangladesh - Iftekhar calls for national consensus on Dhaka's foreign policy; spells out 10-poi Jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the U.K. based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the opening session of the dialogue was also addressed by IISS representative Hilary Synnott and Director General (Europe) Nazmul Kaonain. Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain, foreign diplomats, former ambassadors and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry and IISS were present.
December 18th - - Mizzima News - Fighter planes crashing common in Burma : analyst According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Burmese junta's military expenditure accounts for over 40 percent of the national budget while health and education allocation accounts for 0.4 and 0.5 percent respectively.
December 17th - - BBC News - Russia ignores West's Iran fears "It appears that Russia has decided that there is no longer a political reason to hold up the provision of fuel," said Mark Fitzpatrick, nuclear expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "An important factor was probably the continuation of the International Atomic Energy Agency's work with Iran on questions about its past activities. The recent report from US intelligence in the National Intelligence Estimate that Iran was not actively seeking a...
December 16th - - Independent on Sunday - So, what did we achieve? After four years and 174 dead, Britain's lead role in Basra i Was any other outcome ever possible? Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at London University and the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), doubts whether foreign forces could ever have achieved the Washington neocons' vision of spreading peace and democracy in the Middle East through regime change in Iraq. But he is particularly scathing about British policy in Basra, saying: "It was doomed from the beginning, because we never had anything like enough troops or resources on the...