StrategyUnit:Foreign Policy & Security Issues Blog

“I must study politics and war that my sons many have liberty to study mathenatematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, navel architecture,navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.” - John Adams from Letter to Abigail Adams

The US – Forgetting their New European Allies

Introduction The Economist earlier last month did an update on America’s relationship in Central Europe, the area earlier hailed by Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as part of the “New Europe.” While I applaud his speech as brillent tactical manuverings (Reminding France/Germany that they’re other Europeans beside themselves), it seems ...

Russia-Ukraine Gas Update: Role of Dmitry Medvedev

Complimentaring StrategyUnit’s post on the Russia-Ukraine Gas sega, StratFor’s Peter Zeihan has an interesting perspective on the possible role and orientation of Dimitri Mendevev, Putin’s newly selected Prime Minister, and his in the Ukraine-Russian Gas issue. StratFor’s article is interesting because it takes account to the role of Mendevev, whereas Jamestown ...

Russia, Ukraine, and Natural Gas: Russia Misguided Pipeline Politics?

Updated December 03, 2006 —————– Introduction With the breakdown in price negotiations during recent days, Russian state-owned Gazprom choose to cut the gas deliveries to Ukraine, the main conduit for exports to the rest of Europe. This is a critical situation because, as mentioned by Bloomberg, “State-run Gazprom supplies about a quarter of ...

Turkey Weekend Reading: James Fellows’s Article, Kazakhstan v. Iran, China Military Bases

Howdy All Y’All…Happy Thanksgiving Day. Here’s quick Weekend Reading…just in case you need a break from all that turkey and gravy. By the way, I’ve been doing some light posting this past two weeks, but I’ll start going back to the normal beat of things soon. OxBlog on Jame’s Fellow’s “Why ...

Cossack’s Revival. Tool of the Imperial State and Ethnic Cleansing?

Weekend Reading on the Cossack Revival Since the fall fo the Soviet Union and more prominently under President Putin, there has been a great revival (See Radio Free Europe’s Piece) of the Cossack culture and increasing political clout including a movement to reassert their role as a security/military instrument of ...

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, they play the Great Game too

Summary In November 10, General John Abizaid, Chief of U.S. Central Command visted Kazakhstan (America’s best friend) and stated that US presence in Central Asia is in no way part of “a repeat of great games of the 18th and 19th centuries”. Indeed, he is right, this is definately not Arthur Conolly’s ...

Nalchik Raid – Old Struggle, Old Tactics against Russia

Jamestown Foundation’s Chechnya Weekly issue places the Nalchik Raid and the greater conflict in the Caucasus in Russia’s past imperial history. For anyone familiar with Russian history, this is not exactly news, but it helps bring some barring that Chechnya Conflict in and the Nalchik Raid is nothing new and ...

Russia and Peak Oil

Still on light posting mode…but I think this should be noted in contrast to the Oil Drum’s recent discussion I noted on Saudi Oil. From Reuters: Russian oil output could peak at more than 510 million tonnes annually in 2010, or 10.2 million barrels per day (bpd), Russian Energy Minister Victor Khristenko ...

China, Russia tries quasi-NATO? Dugin’s Eursia or Primakov Doctrine?

I was just about to follow-up on my previous Russia and Eurasia post when CS Monitor (CSM) today published “Russia, China looking to form ‘NATO of the East’?” and opens with this foreboding paragraph: Russia and China could take a step closer to forming a Eurasian military confederacy to rival NATO ...

Guerilla War in Kabardino-Balkaria , Another Chechnya Erupts

Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Monitor and RFE/RL has a good roundup of the Nalchik raid. All of them supporting StrategyPage’s position of another guerilla war coming to Russia Key quote from a Russian legislator: “It was more like a mutiny, an attempt to seize power in the city, and we should label it ...

December 28th 2006
Tags: Commentary, Enviormental Security One Comment

Global Warming Preparedness and Security?

London Underwater, by the Telegraph 12/28/2006 Raising Water Levels on London and China's Drought/Grain Problem As we close 2006 and look to 2007, two global warming major reports - one from Finland and other from China - presents the increasingly dire environmental situation we are facing globally. And whether or not one ...
December 24th 2006
Tags: Commentary, Iran No Comments

The Strategy on Iran and The NY Times Retracted Op-Ed

Introduction: Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann's Retracted Op-Ed Many should know by the the issue involving White House censorship of the Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann's New York Times Op-Ed (see image on left). I have no issue regarding the prepublication review by the CIA's Publication Review Board to ensure to classified ...
November 28th 2006
Tags: Europe, Islamic Terrorism 3 Comments

751 No-Go-Zones in France: The Gap Societies

A "Zones Urbaines Sensibles" (No-Go-Zone) in Nice, France (PDF) . Via Thomas Barnett, Daniel Pipes discusses the 751 Zones Urbaines Sensibes (Sensitive Urban zones) demarcated by the French Government, which are "are conveniently listed on one long webpage, complete with street demarcations and map delineations." Daniel goes on to state: What are they? Those ...

The Mujahideen Network in Spain: Supporting Fighters in Iraq

Quick Post In Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Focus (11/21/06), there are reports that "agents of the Spanish National Police in Madrid arrested four men because of their involvement in a document falsification ring that had, as its primary mission, the objective of providing documentation cover to "mujahideen" leaving Iraq and trying to ...
November 25th 2006
Tags: 4gw, Iraq and Afghanistan One Comment

Iraqi Global Guerrillas and the Sustainable Ecology

Iraqi Guerrillas are now Financially Self-Sufficient Only last week did John Robb at Global Guerrillas noted that: Iraq's non-state guerrillas aren't mere proxies of Iran. Instead, they are largely autonomous. First, these groups don't rely upon Iran for their operating income since they can manufacture income through participation in black globalization's multi-trillion dollar ...

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