October 2007

Baghdad has been purged of al-Qa'eda Iraq experts trace the security turnaround to a movement in Anbar province known as "the Awakening''. Toby Dodge, an Iraq specialist at the University of London, warned that failure to achieve political reconciliation could derail recent improvements. "Anbar is amazing,'' he said. "What has been delivered there is a comparatively stable place from the seventh circle of hell and what has happened in Baghdad is nothing short of spectacular. "But Petraeus himself has made clear...
Egypt to build nuclear power stations Cairo suspended a peaceful nuclear programme after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies said the first 1,000-megawatt reactor could be built at Dabaa on the Mediterranean in eight to 10 years if foreign investment is secured.
India to deepen contacts with militaries In February-March, a five-vessel flotilla of the Indian Navy embarked on an extended deployment to southeast and east Asia, during which it conducted drills with the navies of Russia, China, Japan, the Philippines and Singapore. This apart, the Indian and Russian Special Forces in September participated in a 10-day counter-insurgency drill. India also participated in the Shangri La Dialogue regional security grouping in Singapore with Defence Minister Antony addressing the delegates on New...
Actually, Iran is not so tough Should they do so, Iran will have little to put in their way. Though rich in oil, Iran is a third-world country with a population of 70 million and a per capita income of $2,440. The London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies estimates its defense budget at about $6.3 billion.
IISS Announces 4th Regional Security Summit The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is pleased to announce that the 4th Regional Security Summit: The Manama Dialogue will take place from 7 to 9 December 2007 in Bahrain. The Manama Dialogue is the primary security forum in the Gulf and facilitates the engagement of the national security and foreign policy establishments of the region with critical external powers. In 2007, the Dialogue will convene delegations representing 23 governments, to be led by defence ministers,...
EU's Solana in talks with Iran's new man Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the Non-Proliferation Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said Jalili's appointment could signal a step backwards. "I think it makes it harder to strike a deal, because there is nobody to negotiate with who has some pragmatic inclination," Fitzpatrick said.
French launch post-mortem on Morocco jet deal France will be hoping to shake off the loss of pride as it pitches the Rafale in a much larger race to sell fighter jets to India. France, the United States, Russia, Sweden and the European Eurofighter consortium all eagerly want the order. France is the world's number three arms exporter, according to Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Larijani’s exit further throws Iran’s nuclear "I think it makes it harder to strike a deal, because there is nobody to negotiate with who has some pragmatic inclination," said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the Non-Proliferation Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "With Larijani out of the picture there is nobody to talk to, and it indicates that the supreme leader is not in a mood for a compromise either."
PKK militarily weak but tactically strong According to the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) think-tank in London, the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK which has been fighting for self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984, currently has between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters. In comparison, Turkey has an active capability of nearly 515,000 troops in its army, navy, air force and paramilitary, the IISS said in its publication "The Military Balance 2007".
Iran insists no nuclear shift after Larijani Western analysts said that Jalili -- author of a book entitled "The Foreign Policy of the Prophet" -- was likely to take a harder line in nuclear negotiations. "I think it makes it harder to strike a deal, because there is nobody to negotiate with who has some pragmatic inclination," said Mark Fitzpatrick, director of the Non-Proliferation Programme at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "With Larijani out of the picture there is nobody to talk to, and it...
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator resigns For two years, Larijani had served as secretary of the powerful Supreme National Security Council, which advises the highest levels of the government. His withdrawal "may make negotiations even more problematic than in recent months," said Patrick Cronin, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British think tank.
Bhutto Attack Clouds Pakistan's Future Patrick Cronin, a South Asia expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, doesn't think Pakistan is close to either a violent breakup or an Islamist takeover. But he said the symbolism and scale of the attack on Bhutto could have an "enormously chilling effect" on the parliamentary elections and make it harder for Western countries to sustain vital flows of aid and arms to Pakistan.
India, Russia aim to take their defence ties Antony's trip sets the stage for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow in November for his annual summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had visited Moscow last week. This is Antony's first visit to Russia and only his second abroad since assuming office a year ago. He had visited Singapore in June for a meeting of the Shangri-La Dialogue regional security grouping.
China faces the dilemmas of success "The nature of China's engagement with the rest of the world has become trickier," said Adam Ward, director of the Washington office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "Its value-free and apolitical foreign policy has shown it that the deeper it gets in world affairs, the harder it gets. "It can't have a neutral relationship with Iran as well as having one with Saudi Arabia and Israel. It can't get close to Hugo Chavez without upsetting the United...
U.S. missile defense up for debate in U.K. Meanwhile, a defense analyst said Wednesday that much of the furor over missile defense is premature. “Let’s be honest, this thing’s not working yet. So it’s fairly presumptuous to worry about hosting it,” said Andrew Brookes, an analyst with the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The funny thing about Indonesian pirates As for the formerly pirate-infested Straits of Malacca, part of the problem was that the Indonesian navy was likely complicit in many of the pirate attacks in the first place. As an article in Strategic Comment, the journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, put it in 2004, "anecdotal evidence suggested that elements of these same under-funded security forces (the Indonesian Navy and Marine Police) might also at times have been complicit in maritime crime." That's...
Fringe benefit exacerbates greenhouse gas The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies produced a report last month that concluded the most recent international moves towards combating global warming represent a recognition that if the emission of greenhouse gases is allowed to continue unchecked, "the effects will be catastrophic — on a level of nuclear war".
Climate War Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) warned last month that fears about stability — once hidden by smoke from the debate over the scientific evidence for global warming — 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,...
What happened to our obligation to Iraq? By Dr Toby Dodge, Consulting Senior Fellow for the Middle East
Einsatz am Hindukusch gerät in Gefahr Der Militäreinsatz in Afghanistan beschert nicht nur der Bundesregierung wenig Zustimmung in der Bevölkerung: Aufgrund großen Unmuts daheim erwägen die Niederlande und Kanada eine Reduzierung ihrer Truppen. Und auch die italienische und polnische Regierung stehen wegen der Mission unter Druck. "Es ist beunruhigend, in wie vielen Nato-Ländern es Unzufriedenheit gibt", sagt Christopher Langton, Afghanistan-Experte des International Institute for Strategic...