THE PRICE OF RUSSIA'S SYRIA POLICY
Russia is bracing for blowback from its ongoing military intervention in Syria. As of December 2015, 2,900 Russians were estimated to have joined the jihad against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - posing an existential threat to the Russian Federation should they decide to return. "These completely brainwashed people return home as professional murderers and terrorists," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned. "And we don't want them to stage something similar in Russia after their Syrian stints expire."
The threat, however, hasn't caused the Kremlin to rethink its policy in Syria. Medvedev has said that Russia will continue its military operations to protect the stability of the state (although not necessarily the Assad regime). "We don't know whether this system would have any place for Bashar al-Assad or someone else, this is not our business, and it must be decided by the people of Syria," Medvedev warned. "But we don't want Syria to disintegrate into a number of enclaves and sectors, in line with a Libyan-style scenario." (Reuters, November 5, 2016)
GERMANY'S VULNERABLE MILITARY
Germany's government is on alert after finding evidence that the national military, known as the Bundeswehr, has been infiltrated by some 20 Islamist militants. In response, all applicants for military service from July 2016 onward are now under scrutiny, and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen is proposing new legislation that would "carry out security checks on every aspiring Bundeswehr recruit." If passed, the measure could result in an additional 20,000 security checks performed annually. For its part, the country's military counterespionage service (MAD) is backing the measure, in light of 60 additional cases of potential Islamist infiltration that it has identified to date. The MAD warned the German government last year that the Bundeswehr was too vulnerable to penetration, and presented an attractive target for Islamists. (Deutsche Welle, November 5, 2016)
A COSTLY COUNTERTERRORISM CAMPAIGN
The already-high cost of the counterterrorism fight against ISIS is poised to get steeper still. The White House has requested an additional $11.6 billion in funding from Congress to pay for the campaign against the Islamic State, as well as for ongoing operations in Afghanistan. If approved, the additional funds will bring total U.S. federal spending on these conflicts to $85.3 billion.
U.S. officials have termed the increase in funding "vitally important for our national security." The prospective monies would be split between military operations and expanding training for the Iraqi and Afghan forces on the one hand, and humanitarian and social projects administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on the other. Such a dual military/humanitarian approach - officials like Secretary of Defense Ash Carter believe - "will hasten the defeat" of ISIS. (Defense One, November 10, 2016)
NIGERIA'S FOREIGN ISLAMISTS
Book Haram has long been seen as Nigeria's most potent Islamist group, but the movement isn't actually even Nigerian. According to Nigerian Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai, only a minority of the group's fighters are actually Nigerian nationals. Rather, according to Buratai, "almost 60 per cent of the insurgents are from our neighboring countries." The conclusion, based off recent apprehensions of militants, means that the group isn't a local problem, but an international one, and Buratai has called for more foreign support to his government in its counterterrorism fight. (Abuja Premium Times, November 16, 2016)
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