ISN Security Watch

Latest articles from ISN

• Russia Strengthens it’s Backing of Georgia’s Breakaway Regions

  Published 24 August 2010 | viewed 5,005 times

  The Kremlin made a series of new gestures in support of Georgia’s breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on…

• Iraq’s Dangerous and Depressing Reality

  Published 23 August 2010 | viewed 5,396 times

  Iraq has since 2008 retreated from the brink of collapse, though it still remains perilously close to the precipice. There are daily attacks, such as…

• The About Face in Iran-Brazil Relations

  Published 22 August 2010 | viewed 5,335 times

  Brazil's president has pushed hard to unravel the diplomatic conundrum between Washington and Tehran, yet despite any perceived failures, he will leave Brazil with a…

• Interpreting Sharia Law in Afghanistan

  Published 22 August 2010 | viewed 9,303 times

  Afghan President Hamid Karzai has added his voice to those condemning the Taliban-orchestrated execution by stoning of a young couple charged with adultery. The stonings…

• The Two Leaks

  Published 13 August 2010 | viewed 9,138 times

  While Russian media were reporting about the scandalous Wikileaks and predicting the imminent collapse of the coalition in Afghanistan, the leak of classified FSB documents…

• Dwindling Hopes for Climate Accord

  Published 11 August 2010 | viewed 5,847 times

  Heat waves and deadly floods notwithstanding, an effective global climate change treaty is not on the horizon. Delegates from 190 countries gathered in Bonn last…

• Iraq: The Conflict Over Power

  Published 10 August 2010 | viewed 8,686 times

  The current political impasse in Iraq is damaging to all parties involved. A UN-sponsored National Salvation Government may be the only way forward. The “Non-Dialogue”…

• Iraqi Province Cracks Down on Clerics

  Published 30 July 2010 | viewed 4,291 times

  Clerics in Diyala have been warned they can go to jail for delivering sermons that incite violence, a move aimed at calming the troubled Iraqi…

• Political Instability in Japan and it’s Implications for the US-Japan Alliance

  Published 28 July 2010 | viewed 9,292 times

  The ruling party's inability to gain a single-party majority in the Upper House means that political instability in Tokyo will continue at least until the…

• The Ultimate High Ground and Space Arms Control

  Published 21 July 2010 | viewed 4,667 times

  Obama’s National Space Policy promises to consider arms control proposals if they are equitable, verifiable and increase the national security of the US and its…

• Corruption in Afghanistan Expanding at an Alarming Rate

  Published 20 July 2010 | viewed 5,568 times

  A recent survey by Integrity Watch Afghanistan (IWA) shows a sharp expansion in corruption in Afghan society. Most Afghans now see the payment of bribes…

• Solar Powered Plane completes Night Flight

  Published 15 July 2010 | viewed 6,640 times

  This week’s record-breaking night flight by the Solar Impulse aircraft has been widely acclaimed, but few of us are ever likely to fly in such…

• Will Afghanistan’s $1 Trillion of Minerals Secure Foreign Investment

  Published 12 July 2010 | viewed 3,742 times

  In mid-June, an article in the New York Times revealed to the world something that many Afghans already knew: Afghanistan sits on about $1 trillion-worth…

• Chilling Facts About the Global Economic System

  Published 05 July 2010 | viewed 7,580 times

  The global economic system which easily facilitates tax evasion, money laundering and government corruption, is the same system employed by gun runners, drug cartels and…

• Riots Break out in Iraq Over Energy Shortages

  Published 30 June 2010 | viewed 8,334 times

  The interim Iraqi government is reeling from riots and demonstrations that have erupted across the country to protest severe electricity shortages. Anger has been growing…

• Is Victory Achievable in Pakistan’s War on the Taliban

  Published 28 June 2010 | viewed 6,146 times

  Although army security operations are under way in most of Pakistan’s tribal areas and some of have even been declared cleared of armed Taliban, there…

• Defense and Security in the EU

  Published 23 June 2010 | viewed 10,526 times

  As EU defense ministers prepare for formal meetings within the Foreign Affairs Council, the hope is that this will provide political impetus for the refinement…

• Notorious Private Military Company Blackwater up for Sale

  Published 22 June 2010 | viewed 12,815 times

  Earlier this month, Xe Services, LLC, the latest re-branded name of the company that was once known as Blackwater Worldwide, announced that the company was…

• Iranian Leaders Clampdown on Social Media

  Published 21 June 2010 | viewed 5,581 times

  One year ago, Iran's 'Twitter revolution' made headlines in the western media. Yet in Iran itself, no Twitter revolution was taking place at all. As…

• Moscow Reluctant to Act in Kyrgyzstan Crisis

  Published 19 June 2010 | viewed 4,898 times

  A crisis erupts in a former Soviet state and Russia calls for a multilateral response. Is the Kyrgyz crisis the shape of things to come?…