Russia Reform Monitor: No. 1619
Russian journalists arm themselves;
The Orthodox Church's Soviet spy legacy
Russian journalists arm themselves;
The Orthodox Church's Soviet spy legacy
Beijing's military ambitions in the Pacific grow;
U.S. to ease export restrictions on China
Indo-American missile defense talks inch forward;
The Afghan "
surge"
and the global economy
Russia's expanding Middle East presence;
An end to the gas crisis
The subject of diplomacy with Iran has been on Barack Obama's mind for some time. Back in October 2007, while on the campaign trail, the then-Democratic presidential contender famously announced that he would hold "direct diplomacy, without preconditions" with Iran as a counterpoint to the Bush administration's more hawkish approach to the Islamic Republic. Little has changed in Obama's outlook since. The new president has wasted no time since being inaugurated in making clear that he still seeks diplomatic engagement with the Iranian regime. He has selected a seasoned diplomat, former Israeli-Palestinian negotiator Dennis Ross, as his special envoy on the Iranian issue, and his administration is said to be moving forward with plans to set up an American interests section in Tehran.
A nuclear scramble;
Khatami throws his hat in the ring;
From Washington, an affirmation of diplomatic intent
Special Report: Taiwan's Military Defense
NATO in search of a diplomatic "
thaw"
with Russia;
Tentative Russo-Ukrainian energy deal unravels
Plans for military reform on the skids;
Goodbye to Sevastopol?
Toward a Russia-Belarus union - on missiles;
A quantum leap forward for Iran's strategic reach;
A quid pro quo from the Kremlin...;
...as enthusiasm dims in Europe
Kremlin targets "
enemies of the state"
An energy crisis in the making
Talk of cross-Strait military cooperation spooks Pentagon;
CCP censors caught off guard during Obama's inaugural
U.S. report raises concern about China's "
string of pearls"
Prominent CPC critic downplays Deng's reforms
Bypassing Pakistan;
A helping hand from Kazakhstan;
Ankara cracks the whip on Ergenekon;
Al-Qaeda's biological blunder
A repeat of Russian failures in Afghanistan?;
Rebuilding the U.S.-Pakistani military partnership
An energy takeover in the Balkans;
Nostalgia for Uncle Joe
Pyongyang accuses Seoul of plotting a coup;
Pakistan military mobilized, post-Mumbai
President Obama has issued an executive order making good on his promise to close down America’s detainee facility at Guantánamo Bay, though not as rapidly as his supporters wanted. While activists will hail this as a major step towards dismantling the Bush administration’s wartime policies, the Guantánamo they object to exists more as reputation than reality. To many, the name Guantánamo screams “No Due Process!” “Torture!” and “War Crimes!” But Camp Delta is the most humane facility of its type in the history of warfare.
China defensive about role in African arms trade;
PLA welcomes easing of cross-Strait tensions
Another Latin American ally for Moscow;
Russian counterintelligence works overtime
Cross-Strait rapprochement extends to financial sector;
Beijing's appetite for U.S. T-bills may cool in 2009
Six Party Talks still stalled;
Realizing a Taliban/al-Qaeda rift
First direct cross-Strait flights between China and Taiwan;
Moscow and Beijing in bid to reaffirm military partnership
Condemnation of Israel, scant support for Hamas;
From Hezbollah, threats...;
...but no action;
Syria and Turkey attempt to play peacemaker;
A warning from Iran
Malaise and decline under Ahmadinejad;
The challenge facing Obama;
Dulcet tones from the new president...;
...amoid hopeful signs of economic leverage
"
Serious operational glitches"
in Chinese satellite bound for Caracas;
Jobless factory workers return home, find corruption and abuse
A "
surge"
for Afghanistan;
The LTTE on the ropes?
What should the United States do about the war in Gaza? That's the question plaguing policy-makers in Washington these days as they watch the unfolding conflict between Israel and Hamas. The cause for the current fighting – and its morality – is exceedingly clear. Since its bloody ouster of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party from the Gaza Strip 18 months ago, Hamas has established a virtual terrorist enclave there.
Russia's building boom collapses;
A chilly reception for the new "
Solidarity"
"
Floating population"
of Chinese workers hit hard by crisis;
Chinese navy to join hunt for Somali pirates
Transition in the Russian Orthodox Church;
Backward from privatization
Is Iran seeking nuclear weapons? For some, despite the mounting evidence, this is still very much an open question. Not, however, for Delpech, director of strategic affairs at the French Atomic Energy Commission and senior research fellow at the Center for International Studies in Paris. "[T]he quest for an atomic weapon is the only credible explanation" for the pattern of delay, secrecy, and obfuscation exhibited by Iran's ayatollahs over their nuclear effort, she writes.
U.S. to China: Back off Pak nuclear deal;
Beijing prepares massive investment in health care
U.S. report warns of China's "
disturbing"
military growth;
Liberal Chinese newsmagazine refuses to be censored
China makes economic inroads into Latin America;
Commodity price drop stalls PRC-DPRK trade
China's space program and U.S. security;
GMD gathers steam;
Moscow plans new missiles...;
...while plans for the "
third site"
waver;
Japan soldiers on
UAE poised to join the missile defense club...;
...and the nuclear club;
Egypt and Iran at it again;
Lonely in Central Asia
Communication blackout between the Koreas;
A more productive partner in Islamabad
(Attempted) dialogue of the deaf;
Khamenei does strategic communication;
The majles, marching toward irrelevance;
Dwindling dreams of energy independence
Irked by "
absurd"
credit terms, Moscow cancels loans from China;
Beijing keeps India border dispute simmering
India taking measures to "
cope with China's rise"
China expands space ties with Moscow, nuclear ties with Astana
Hajj row raises Saudi-Hamas tensions;
Jones plan for West Bank gets cold reception;
Turkey, EU spar over membership;
Media crackdown in Baku and Bishkek
As the conflict in Iraq winds down, the “forgotten front” of the War on Terror, Afghanistan, has moved back into the forefront of the national security debate. Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan (hereafter OEF) is aptly named, since the conflict will endure long into the next administration. Whoever takes the oath of office in January of 2009 will face the same types of challenges in Afghanistan that have bedeviled the current administration since 2001, and to an extent have been characteristic of Afghan politics for decades.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has three phobias," according to Iranian expatriate journalist Amir Taheri. "Women, Jews and America." Forget bombs. Maybe we should send in Barbra Streisand.
Syrian nuke site revealed;
Iraq happy, Turks nervous about SOFA;
Looking for land routes in Central Asia;
Kuwait cabinet resigns... again
An Internet offensive;
Iran's new naval base;
If you can't beat them, join them;
Iran's inexorable march toward the bomb
Russia's corrupt military;
Back to business as usual with Europe, NATO