RUSSIA'S NEW SOUTHWESTERN BARRIER
The government of Russian President Vladimir Putin is now heavily engaged in Syria, ostensibly as part of a campaign to eradicate the Islamic State terrorist group. But worries over resurgent jihadism closer to home may soon cause the Kremlin to mobilize in Central Asia. In response to recent gains by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as growing infiltration by the Islamic State among the countries of Central Asia, Moscow is now reportedly considering re-assuming military control of the common border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Russian officials are reportedly "very concerned with the situation in Tajikistan," which has seen signs of growing Islamic militancy in recent weeks, and as a result are mulling the possibility of re-establishing direct military control over the poorly-governed border between that country and Afghanistan. The Russian government handed over patrol duties for that boundary to the Tajik government back in 2005, but current events have increasingly convinced Russian officials that maintaining a laissez faire attitude is no longer advisable. (Reuters, October 15, 2015)
U.S. INCHES INTO BOKO HARAM FIGHT
The U.S. government is stepping up its investment in the fight against Nigeria's Boko Haram. The Obama administration has authorized the deployment of some 300 military personnel, along with surveillance drones, to bolster regional efforts against the Islamist group. In a formal letter to Congress, President Obama has outlined that the supplemental forces - which will augment Nigerian and Cameroonian troops already engaged against Boko Haram - will help "to conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations in the region."
But America's role, the President has made clear, is strictly a supporting one. "The results of these ISR flights will better enable African partners to secure their borders against violent and illegal activities disrupting our common desire for stability in the region," Obama’s letter outlined. That intelligence will likewise assist a multinational task force against Boko Haram currently being set up by Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon,Chad and Benin. (Doha Al-Jazeera, October 15, 2015)
THE TALIBAN, RESURGENT
After years of political marginalization, Afghanistan's main Islamist movement is making a major comeback. Over half of the districts in Afghanistan now reportedly faceat a substantial threat from the group - more than at any time since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of the country. Data compiled by the United Nations indicates that the insurgency against the Afghan government is now moving to areas which had little Taliban presence in the past - particularly parts of northern Afghanistan, where the UN recently initiated evacuations of four provincial offices. This state of affairs is at odds with the public depiction of the Afghan front by the Obama administration.
Informed observers chalk up the Taliban's new momentum to a declining Western military footprint in the country. In light of the departure of most NATO forces, and an ongoing debate in Washington over how significant a military footprint toretain in the country, "[t]he Taliban now feel confident that they can wage an extensive ground war aiming at capturing territory, close off key transport arteries, and even overrun cities such as Kunduz," notes Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai.
The Islamist movement, meanwhile, is turning its attention to national media, stepping up its efforts to win "hearts and minds" in Afghanistan - through intimidation. The movement has declared two of Afghanistan's commercial television channels, ToloTV and 1TV, to be "propaganda networks" as a result of their critical coverage, thereby making them legitimate targets of the group. "No employee, anchor, office, news team, and reporter of these TV channels holds any immunity," the group has said in an official statement. "All the reporters and associates of these channels will be deemed enemy personnel, all of their centers, offices and dispatched teams will be considered military objectives which will be directly eliminated." (, October 12, 2015; Radio Free Europe, October 16, 2015; Radio Free Europe, October 16, 2015)
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