... military operation in Gaza. It would be more logical to look for targets among the staunch advocates of Benyamin Netanyahu. Even if ISIS decided to stage a terrorist operation in Moscow, they would have probably targeted one of local synagogues, as they have ... ... weeks ago. However, in Russia they argue that the information from Washington was very general, unclear and therefore not really usable. There are thousands and thousands of popular public spaces in Moscow, and if the warning did not contain any reference ...
... component, which is harder to counter. We know that ISIS has already chosen a new leader, and as often happens, when you eliminate the head, the person that comes after is usually even more of a risk. The main priority now is to resolve the issue for thousands of ISIS fighters and affiliates, as well as wives and children who are in prison camps in North-East Syria and Iraq. This is another domain where international cooperation will be necessary to ensure that the instability in these regions do not lead to an ...
... order and cause a situation of chaos in Europe, there would be more opportunity to expand by recruiting brothers, training them in the Middle East or Pakistan, and sending them back to Europe to establish caliphates. The third phase of Jihadism, namely ISIS, held a post-millenarian perspective, as opposed to
Al Qaeda
which was pre-millenarian. By the same token, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi independently developed a form of jihad that was mostly sectarian. He was far more focused on killing Shias than westerners, targeting the heretics before the real infidels. He failed temporarily in Iraq after an overwhelming Shia reaction ...
... how to cope with three recent developments that call for significant adjustments in the Russian strategy.
First, the defeat of ISIS, which is definitely a positive development for everybody engaged in Syria and in neighboring countries, has an important ... ... two states; each of the parties tries to pull Moscow to its side of the conflict. The risks of alienating either Teheran or Jerusalem, or even both of them, are on the rise.
Finally, if Damascus finally has a complete military victory and regains control ...
... phasing, location, role in governance, size, and participating countries), the framework exists and the negotiating space in principle allows room for compromise.
The group’s discussion of European security echoed that regarding Ukraine. The Ukraine crisis is, of course, a crucial component of European security. Moving beyond it, however, or assuming its resolution, still leaves many other challenges on the continent. Moreover, when it comes to Ukraine, conversations about possible solutions are ongoing,...
...
Kathleen Hicks, Kim Cragin and Olga Oliker
Among other things, you are an expert in the Cold War. At present, Russia and the USA are experiencing a period of tensions in their relationship. In your opinion, what should be done in order to overcome these ... .... Despite tensions between Washington and Moscow, we are, thankfully, very far from an emergency of the type of the Berlin Crisis of 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis, or even the 1984 collision between the US plane carrier
Kitty Hawk
and the K-314 Soviet ...
... help the region expand its oil pipeline infrastructure through which crude is exported via Turkey to global markets. For the USA, it is not satisfied with the Turkish rapprochement with Moscow, and might use the Kurdish card to pressure on Ankara, further ... ... allies in NATO. On the other hand, both Moscow and Washington fear the current timing of independence poll, as the fight against ISIS is tensing and progressing. A crack between Baghdad and Erbil would badly alter the progress made in the fight against ISIS....
... since sometimes tried to normalize Ankara-Moscow broken relations. For years he opposed Putin’s position on Syria, and he has given up the demand that Syrian dictator Assad must go. On the contrary, he agreed with Russia and Iran, to mutually fight ISIS and Al-Qaeda associate Al-Nusra movement. Furthermore, he pushed deeper to replace NATO military hardware, with Russian and Chinese military technologies. During his visit to Kremlin, he signed a deal to purchase S-400 air and missile defense system....
... peaceful Sunni demonstrations very violently. He stopped honoring agreements to provide various forms of assistance to tens of thousands of former Sunni insurgents who had reconciled with the government during the Surge. Tragically, these actions undid much ... ... of the “Mother of All Bombs” (MOAB, or Massive Ordnance Air Blast), the largest conventional bomb in the US arsenal, on ISIS fighters in Afghanistan on April 14. Facing what Mattis has called a “clear and present danger” from North Korea, Trump’s ...
... not that is the case, we are likely to find out in a few weeks. However, as someone who follows the evolution of the conflict very closely, I am not holding my breath expecting both Mosul and soon to be respectively the place and time for the chief of ISIS to finally meet his demise. To mention again historical precedents, prominent terrorist leaders such as Al-Baghdadi seem amazingly successful at this hide and seek game. It is impossible to forget how Usama Bin Laden evaded - admittedly with surprising effectiveness - the best efforts of the intelligence services of half the world at locating him for more than a decade. Then, conveniently, he was found living the good life very quietly in the backyard ...
