July 2007

Iran bank hit hard by sanctions Mark Fitzpatrick of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said the failure of Bank Sepah's European branches could strengthen the hand of those in Washington pushing for diplomacy and undermine hardliners who would like to see military action used to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities."If the overseas branches of Bank Sepah do fall, it will certainly encourage Washington in the diplomatic track and not to seek alternatives," said Fitzpatrick, a former U.S....
NATO, Officials and Experts prepare for GSR The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) will bring together over three hundred senior government officials, leading researchers, and many of the Institutes influential members from around the world to discuss and address some of the worlds most critical issues at the 5th IISS Global Strategic Review (GSR), to be held in Geneva from 7-9 September 2007.
Smoke signals from South Block The Defence Minister then sounded a clear warning to the public sector Ordnance Factories (OFs) at their General Managers Conference in May this year: reform or risk oblivion. Mr Antony became the first defence minister in recent times to clearly spell out Indias threat perceptions; at the Shangri La dialogue, in Singapore, this June, he identified internal unrest as Indias greatest concern, more so than even China and Pakistan.
Confession Time in Iran But modest UN sanctions, combined with a U.S. campaign to deter investment in Iran, are believed to be having an impact. A new move by U.S. pension funds (WSJ) could affect billions of dollars in investment and further compound the dysfunction in Irans oil sector. Mark Fitzpatrick, a nonproliferation expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, sees a further hardening of views (IHT) toward Iran on the UN Security Council ahead of talks on a new round of sanctions. In an...
Joined at the hip Two-thirds of Americans think the war in Iraq was a mistake and not worth the loss of more US lives. Mr Brown knows that the quicker he can get the troops out of Basra the happier the British public will be. Colonel H R McMaster, architect of the Baghdad surge, argues in our interview today that Iraq has become a communal struggle incited by Al-Qaeda that may last a generation. The best the allies can hope for is a retreat to acceptable levels of violence and...
Brown aide sounded out US on withdrawal The Sunday Times also carried an interview with US army Colonel HR McMaster, one of the architects of Bush's controversial "surge" of 30,000 more troops to stem the bloody tide of sectarian violence in Iraq. He was quoted as saying: "If we leave now, there would be chaos."
Leaving now not the way out of Iraq One of the key strategists behind Americas last-ditch 'surge' in Iraq, Colonel HR McMaster explains his thinking to Marie Colvin, our award-winning correspondent, who has spent decades covering the Middle East and has witnessed the bloody reality of life in Baghdad. McMaster insists that sustained stability is possible eventually. But was the surge the right policy too late?
Three British soldiers dead in a week But others question whether sending in more troops will deal with one of the worst problems in Afghanistan the mounting toll among civilians caught up in military operations, which the Taliban has exploited for propaganda purposes. Christopher Langton, an Afghanistan expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said Nato constantly replied that the enemy killed more civilians. "This brings us down to their level in the minds of the population, which is a...
Britain's bloodiest campaign Christopher Langton, senior fellow for conflict at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said that the Kajaki project was "a very good example of how the international community, in support of the Afghan authorities, can prise away the support of local people from the Taliban".
France-Libya deal poses no proliferation risk Non-proliferation expert Mark Fitzpatrick of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) added: "I dont think there is any proliferation risk, given the fact that Libya is still cooperating with the IAEA (and) the manner it turned over and destroyed equipment."
France Overlooks Tripoli's Past Rogue Status Analyst Mark Fitzpatrick of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies sees no imminent danger in such cooperation. He describes Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's decision to abandon all weapons of mass destruction programs as "courageous." "There has been very good cooperation by the Libyans and there is no reason to doubt the 'bona fides' of their halt to weapons of mass destruction programs. So there are no longer any major outstanding concerns about Libya's...
Tape revives speculation on bin Laden's fate His top aide Ayman al-Zawahri has made many statements stating al Qaeda policy on regional issues while bin Laden has been silent. "The fact that Zawahri took over the show suggests that the man is inaccessible ... either for security or health reasons," said Mamoun Fandy, director of the Middle East program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Ups and Downs of Americas Asian Relations Defense Secretary Robert Gates speech at an Asian security meeting in June, sponsored by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, brought the US dilemma into sharper focus. Gates listed a wide array of assistance needs for Central Asian states and Afghanistan, including money to promote regional integration, as well as to fund counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics programs. At the same time, he made it clear that the United States could not go on bearing the...
Putin calls for response to US threat Oksana Antonenko, a senior fellow at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said: Some people will think he is acting to boost his domestic popularity before the presidential election of 2008. Other people will say he is speaking like this to boost Russias power in the world through rhetoric. It suits him to focus attention on these issues.
Keys to Tehran: A guide to the major players By Mark Fitzpatrick, Senior Fellow for Non-proliferation
U.S. seen in Iraq until at least '09 To develop the plan, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker assembled a Joint Strategic Assessment Team, which sought to define the conflict and outline the elements of a new strategy. It included officers like Col. H. R. McMaster, the field commander who carried out the successful ''clear, hold and build'' operation in Tal Afar and who wrote a critical account of the Joint Chiefs of Staff role during the Vietnam War; Col. John R. Martin, who teaches at the Army War College and was a West...
Patient bargaining v sabre-rattling Patrick Cronin, the director of studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, argues that because the North Korean horse has bolted, the locks on the Iranian stable door are being checked with particular care. "Because the aim of the international community is to minimise the uncertainty that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon, there is a higher degree of accountability that is being applied to its highly enriched uranium programme," Mr Cronin said.
Democracy key to Pakistans progress: Benazir Chairperson, Pakistan Peoples Party, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto said on Friday that democracy was the key to the progress and development of her country. Delivering a talk on The future of Democracy in Pakistan at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Central London, she said Pakistan was passing through a critical period of time and under attack by the religious militants.
Bhutto hails Pakistan judge ruling Bhutto, who was twice Pakistan's leader in the 1990s, said she hopes to go back to the country but gave no details, merely stating that key conditions were fair elections and a proper balance of power between the president and parliament. Bhutto, 53, went into exile in 1998 over corruption cases pending against her and her husband. She faces arrest and possible imprisonment if she returns to Pakistan. She was speaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) think-tank in...
Moscow in push for super-power status "We can understand that Russia is claiming its former position of superpower," he said earlier in a speech at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. "However, we are scared by a strategy oriented more on prestige and on building military might instead of investing in civil infrastructure. With this strategy, I am afraid that Russia will once again end up as a giant with feet of clay."