South Asia Security Monitor: No. 383
Afghan army restructured in Helmand;
Indian warships visits Sri Lanka;
First-ever Russia-Pakistan military exercises;
14 Bangladeshis detained;
Ethnic protests in Nepal continue
Afghan army restructured in Helmand;
Indian warships visits Sri Lanka;
First-ever Russia-Pakistan military exercises;
14 Bangladeshis detained;
Ethnic protests in Nepal continue
Was the Iran nuclear deal really all about nuclear weapons, from Tehran's point of view? Or did the mullahs play the world for suckers as a road to easy wealth?
Playing both sides in Afghanistan;
Investigating Russia's hand in European politics
 
Russian arms for Hezbollah fighters;
In Moscow, new military investments... and pessimism about the future
To hear President Vladimir Putin tell it, his government is the proverbial tip of the spear in the global war on terror.
For months, Kremlin officials have taken great pains to style their intervention in Syria in grandiose terms - not simply as a ploy to prop up a key strategic ally, but as a broader campaign against Islamic extremism. To hear them tell it, Russia has been forced to lead because of Western fecklessness in the face of gathering Islamic radicalism. Yet this bluster belies the fact that Moscow's counterterrorism policy is both flawed and selective in the extreme.