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UkraineAlert

Sep 29, 2016

The Lessons of Babyn Yar: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

By Kateryna Smagliy

“No gravestone stands on Babyn Yar,” wrote the Soviet poet Yevgeniy Yevtushenko in 1961. He was condemning the Soviet regime’s failure to acknowledge the Babyn Yar tragedy twenty-five years after World War II had ended. When a monument was finally erected in 1974 to commemorate the deaths of 100,000 people generically characterized as “Soviet citizens,” […]

Russia Ukraine
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Sept. 26, 2016

NATOSource

Sep 29, 2016

Secretary of Defense: NATO is Updating its ‘Nuclear Playbook’ to Deter Russia

By DoD News and Department of Defense

From Jim Garamone, DoD News:  Defense Secretary Ash Carter kicked off a visit to DoD’s nuclear deterrence enterprise

Korea NATO

New Atlanticist

Sep 29, 2016

The Geopolitics of Peak Demand

By Robert J. Johnston

This article is part two of a two-part series. From 1973 to 2011, when policy makers in Washington thought about energy, they thought in terms of concerns about peak supply. These apprehensions were triggered by the oil shock in 1973 that roughly coincided with the peak in US domestic conventional oil production and rise in […]

Energy & Environment

MENASource

Sep 29, 2016

Kuwaiti-Iranian Relations: The Energy Angle

By Giorgio Cafiero and Cinzia Miotto

Although oil-rich, Kuwait has modest gas reserves. Consequently, the Arab Gulf state has been a net importer of the resource since 2008, and in 2009 Kuwait became the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). As a host of obstacles (contract structures, geological challenges, etc.) have hindered rapid expansion of […]

Iran The Gulf

New Atlanticist

Sep 28, 2016

South Sudan’s First Vice President Blames Roads, Criminals for Blocking UN Efforts

By Ashish Kumar Sen

South Sudan’s First Vice President Taban Deng Gai blames the absence of roads, the presence of criminals, and weak governance structures for the obstruction of UN peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts in his country. Deng spoke in response to a confidential report from United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the UN Security Council that […]

East Africa Sudan

SyriaSource

Sep 28, 2016

Obama Gives Free Rein to Assad and Putin

By Mona Alami

In the past eight days alone, over 1,000 people were killed in Aleppo as Russian aircraft bombarded the city. Russia and the Assad regime’s fresh offensive on the country’s former economic center signals its intent to maximize gains in Syria before the next US presidential elections and its belief that victory is within reach.

Syria

UkraineAlert

Sep 28, 2016

Putin’s Balkan Insecurities

By Stephen Blank

Two and a half years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, too many public figures in the United States and Europe still seem unable to decipher Russia’s motives. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently told a Bosnian newspaper that NATO’s readiness to extend membership to Montenegro and welcome Bosnia and Macedonia was not only a […]

Russia Ukraine

Trade in Action

Sep 28, 2016

TTIP&TRADE in Action – September 28, 2016

By Global Business & Economics Program

The 15th round of TTIP negotiations will occur in New York, New York between October 3-7. Please follow this link for more details regarding the agenda.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

MENASource

Sep 28, 2016

Shimon Peres: RIP

By Frederic C. Hof

Although age and infirmity had already curtailed the impact of Shimon Peres on Israel and its neighbors, his passing nevertheless measures high on the Richter scale of Israeli and regional affairs. For decades he represented his country and its citizens with great skill and impressive finesse. Yet the polish and sophistication he projected masked underlying toughness […]

Israel

SyriaSource

Sep 28, 2016

Syrian Rebels Issue Opposing Fatwas as the Regime Destroys Aleppo

By Saleem al-Omar

Following the recent Turkish Euphrates Shield operation on Syrian territory against the Islamic State (ISIS), Syrian opposition groups issued several Fatwas (religious rulings) in support of joining operations under Turkish command. The underlying argument behind the fatwas is where opposition fighters should be deployed: fighting to defend Aleppo city, or supporting the Turkish operation further […]

Syria