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New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2015

Strange Bedfellows: Saudi Arabia, Israel Oppose Iran Nuclear Deal for Different Reasons

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Saudis worry about regional power, Israelis about an ‘existential threat,’ say analysts Saudi Arabia and Israel find themselves in the same camp as opponents of a nuclear deal with Iran, but the Sunni kingdom and Jewish state have very different reasons for their opposition. Israelis are concerned mainly with a nuclear-armed Iran, while the Saudis […]

Iran

AfricaSource

Mar 16, 2015

Democratic Congo’s Democracy Deficit

By J. Peter Pham

The incumbent regime ruling the rather ironically-named Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to narrow the political space in the country as it approaches elections which are supposed to be held next year, going so far this past weekend as to arrest a US diplomat who was detained along with other participants at a […]

Russia cruiser Peter the Great, June 28, 2003

NATOSource

Mar 16, 2015

Russia Launches Massive Arctic Military Drills

By AP and Reuters

From AP:  The Russian military on Monday launched sweeping military maneuvers in the Arctic and other areas, a show of force ordered by President Vladimir Putin amid spiraling tensions with the West over Ukraine.

Europe & Eurasia Russia

MENASource

Mar 16, 2015

Top News: Yemeni Opposition’s United Front Against Houthis

By MENASource

Opponents of Yemen’s Houthi militia announced the formation of a national alliance on Saturday to restore the authority of the state, in a major shakeup of Yemen’s political landscape.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dec. 18, 2014

NATOSource

Mar 16, 2015

Putin Willing to Put Russian Nuclear Forces on Alert in Support of Attack on Ukraine

By Michael Birnbaum, Washington Post

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed his nation’s capture of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, he said in a documentary aired Sunday, in which he offered details of his deep involvement in last year’s quick and effective takeover.

Nuclear Nonproliferation Security & Defense

MENASource

Mar 16, 2015

Top News: Over $70 Billion Pledged at Economic Conference Says Prime Minister

By EgyptSource

Contributions worth $72.5 billion were pledged over the course of Egypt’s Economic Development Conference, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said in his closing speech on Sunday. The contributions were divided between investments, aid, and loans, $33 billion of which had been signed and were ready to be implemented. 

MENASource

Mar 16, 2015

Negotiate With Assad?

By Frederic C. Hof

Over the weekend in Egypt, CBS News asked Secretary of State John Kerry in an interview if he would be willing to negotiate with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad. “Well,” said Kerry, “we have to negotiate in the end. We’ve always been willing to negotiate in the context of the Geneva I process.” In fact, the “Geneva […]

MENASource

Mar 16, 2015

Syria at Four Years

By Frederic C. Hof

In March 2011 Bashar al-Assad elected to respond to peaceful protests against police brutality with lethal violence. Was this a choice he made freely and consciously? Or was he obliged by his security chieftains to beat, shoot, incarcerate, and torture protesters?

Syria
US tank arriving in Riga, March 10, 2015

NATOSource

Mar 14, 2015

US Sending 3,000 Troops to Baltic Allies

By Jon Harper, Stars and Stripes

Thousands of troops and major hardware from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division are heading to the Baltic region to reassure NATO allies

NATO Northern Europe
Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist, March 26, 2014

NATOSource

Mar 13, 2015

Sweden Plans to Increase Military Spending

By Wall Street Journal and AFP

From Charlie Duxbury, Wall Street Journal:  The Nordic state has seen its airspace violated by Russian military jets on a number of occasions and the appearance of a mystery foreign submarine in Swedish waters last fall further raised tensions.

Northern Europe Russia