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The United States on Monday accused Russia of violating a Cold War arms treaty governing both powers’ use of intermediate range missiles. If true, it marks the latest in a series of Russian breaches of international norms since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012. Russia’s violation of the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which prohibits both America and Russia from deploying ballistic and cruise missiles that are launched from the ground and have a range of between 500 and 5,000 kilometers, was first reported by The New York Times in January. An American government official confirmed the...

“In principle, Ukraine does not independently exist,” said Russian Orthodox Church leader Kirill i during a June 18 address. Ukraine is instead part of “the historical territory of Russia,” the patriarch said, according to a report by the Kiev-based Espreso tv. Such a stance on Ukraine mirrors that of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2005, Mr. Putin said the demise of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century.” Ever since, his prime objective has been the rebuilding of Russia’s influence in its former Soviet periphery—especially in Ukraine. Although Putin never tried to hide what he...

“In principle, Ukraine does not independently exist,” said Russian Orthodox Church leader Kirill i during a June 18 address. Ukraine is instead part of “the historical territory of Russia,” the patriarch said, according to a report by the Kiev-based Espreso tv. Such a stance on Ukraine mirrors that of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2005, Mr. Putin said the demise of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century.” Ever since, his prime objective has been the rebuilding of Russia’s influence in its former Soviet periphery—especially in Ukraine. Although Putin never tried to hide what he...

In view of the public frustration with a decade of largely unsuccessful U.S. war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the impending cuts to the U.S. military budget, there is an active debate at present as to what military strategy and force structure should be fashioned for the future. Unfortunately, many taxpayers and most politicians are totally illiterate when it comes to the subject of warfare. (Judging from the dismal results in the last ten years, a similar conclusion might to drawn concerning the U.S. officer corps.) In an attempt to fill this critical knowledge void and perhaps raise the level...

The evolution of geopolitics is cyclical. Powers rise, fall and shift. Changes occur in every generation in an unending ballet. However, the period between 1989 and 1991 was unique in that a long cycle of human history spanning hundreds of years ended, and with it a shorter cycle also came to a close. The world is still reverberating from the events of that period. On Dec. 25, 1991, an epoch ended. On that day the Soviet Union collapsed, and for the first time in almost 500 years no European power was a global power, meaning no European state integrated economic,...

Will North Korea ever open up? Not if China has a say. And China does have a say. A big say. China is North Korea’s best friend in the world – a friendship that was cemented with blood when Chairman Mao sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers to their deaths in North Korea in 1950. Back then it was all about showing the world that a young People’s Republic of China could throw her weight around in Asia. It was also about doing the bidding of Stalin – the man who created the Korean war and played his two biggest...

The Emperors’ ClothesCyril AlmeidaMay 6, 2011 PAKISTAN this week has been confronted with a deeply unsettling question. Could the self-appointed custodians of the national interest themselves be the greatest threat to national security? There is no joy in asking this. Pakistan exists in a tough neighbourhood. A strong and vibrant army is necessary and desirable. But as the initial shock and disbelief wears off, there is a deep, deep sense of unease here. Did they know he was here? Surely, they knew he was here? Nobody has come out and said it openly yet. It’s too early, the story still...

The nation of Israel accounts for only 1/10000 of the earth’s land mass. It could fit inside the borders of Texas 33 times. Svalbard and Tokelau are bigger. (Who? Exactly.) Yet one-third of the UN's resolutions focus on Israel. Why is this microscopic country the ongoing focus of world politics? The next world war (inching inexorably closer) would seemingly hinge on nothing more than the validity of this tiny country's existence. Amazingly, the words of Jewish prophets --writing more than 2500 years ago from an Israel that was a scrappy, backwater upstart in comparison to the grandeur of the successive...

68 Dead in Karachi, Pakistan Political Killing Spree Russia, Venezuela Sing Nuclear Power Station Deal Washington Eyes Billions in India Deals Netherlands Antilles Ceases to Exist Iran Lashes Out at BP for Refusing to Refuel Commercial Jets Tajikistan Attempts to Buy Russian Help over Uzbek Water Dispute -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 68 Dead in Karachi, Pakistan Political Killing Spree Violence began over the weekend in Karachi, Pakistan, by Tuesday the death toll had risen to 68, according to Pakistani media reports. On Tuesday, at least 10 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured by gunmen on motorbikes who stormed the...

YEKATERINBURG, Russia — Germany will help Japan gain access to vital rare earth minerals which are being withheld by China in a territorial dispute, German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said Saturday. Bruederle was speaking on his way home from a visit to Tokyo where he had talks with Japanese trade and economy ministers Akihiro Ohata and Banri Kaieda. He said they had raised the possibility of Japan running out of stocks of the commodities vital for the manufacture of electronic goods such as mobile telephones. In turn Bruederle spoke of eventual joint efforts to explore for new resources of the...

•Head of Turkmengaz Fired and Replaced with Deputy •CYBERCOM to Go Operational This Month •Govt Takes over Hungarian Plant after Deadly Toxic Spill •French Transport and Oil Industry Strikes Risks Radicalization •Bolivia to Start Lithium Production in October •ISAF’s Torkham AfPak Border Crossing Reopened •Iran’s President Visits Lebanon in Clear Attempt to Boost Hezbollah Head of Turkmengaz Fired and Replaced with Deputy Local media in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat reported on 8 October that Turkmenistan’s President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov fired the head of the state-run Turkmengaz for mismanagement (specifically for “serious miscalculations”), and replaced him with Dovlet Mommayev, who until...

World leaders "believe absolutely" that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran to prevent the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday. “Iran is not guaranteeing a peaceful production of nuclear power [so] the members of the G-8 are worried and believe absolutely that Israel will probably react preemptively,” Berlusconi told reporters following talks with other Group of Eight leaders north of Toronto...

Yes to the war, but only with Obama.The "No to War” Government Prepares to Send Civil Guards to Iraq After the “mother of all withdraws" carried out by Zapatero and the former Defence minister, Jose Bono, it seems that after the arrival of Obama to the White House the War of Iraq is no longer so illegal, immoral and unjust: agents of the Civil Guard have travelled to Iraq. Libertad Digital The news broke out last Wednesday in the Congress, when answering a question from the [right wing] PP member of parliament, Ignacio Cosidó, the Secretary of State of Security,...

N. Korea may formalize power transfer from Kim Jong Il to 3rd son, analysts say By Chico Harlan and John Pomfret Sunday, June 27, 2010; A09 TOKYO -- North Korea announced Saturday that it would hold a rare meeting that analysts predicted would herald the rise of Kim Jong Un, a son of ruler Kim Jong Il, as the new leader of the isolated Stalinist dictatorship. Official state news media reported that delegates from the ruling Korean Workers' Party would meet in September to select a new party leadership. Analysts said the gathering had all the hallmarks of a similar...

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I logged over 15,000 air miles in the past three weeks, my ports of call including Moscow, Kiev, Istanbul, and London. I enjoyed opportunities to exchange views with informed leaders of government, business, and think-tanks. Changes -- many repugnant to believe -- are proceeding rapidly in each country I visited. I choose to focus on changes in Turkey and Russia which are harmful to the national interests of the United States. Turkey presents the more immediate concern. Atatürk's secular republic, established after the Ottoman collapse in World War I, was long hailed as the enlightened model for Muslim countries. Turkey...

As oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico, I thought it might be helpful to review how we got where we are today. The graph below shows total U.S. consumption of petroleum products (in red) and oil production from U.S. fields (in green). Consumption has been growing pretty steadily since 1981 while production has been declining. About 3-1/2 million barrels per day of the gap between these two lines is made up by refinery process gain, natural gas plant liquids, and other liquids. But most of the gap must be met by U.S. imports. Each year that our...

The Greater Black Sea Basin (GBSB) – the region between the middle of the Adriatic Sea in the west and the middle of the Caspian Sea in the east, between the Russian landmass in the north and the Turkish-Persian landmass in the south – is fast becoming Europe’s latest tinderbox. Although traditional geographic textbooks identify the borderline between Europe and Asia as the line stretching westwards along the water-crest of the Caucasus Mountains and then arching southwards through the center of the Turkish Straits and then hugging the Greek littoral westwards, the legacy of the Cold War and the dissolution...

India Worries as China Builds Ports in South Asia By VIKAS BAJAJ HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka — For years, ships from other countries, laden with oil, machinery, clothes and cargo, sped past this small town near India as part of the world’s brisk trade with China. Now, China is investing millions to turn this fishing hamlet into a booming new port, furthering an ambitious trading strategy in South Asia that is reshaping the region and forcing India to rethink relations with its neighbors. As trade in the region grows more lucrative, China has been developing port facilities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and...

The Secret Anti-China Message Behind Obama's Mission To Yemen Joe Weisenthal Jan. 9, 2010, 11:13 AM The war on terror is back, though the story has moved from Afghanistan (which is ostensibly now in nation-building mode) to Yemen, which up until recently, many Americans probably had never heard of. Asia Times has an excellent overview of the situation written by former Indian ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. What's most interesting is his analysis of Yemen through the lens of the broader tension between the US and China. Most important, however, for US global strategies will be the massive gain of control...