23 February 2013 — Strategic Culture Foundation
Syrian Rebels Get Arms from Kosovo and Bosnia
23.02.2013 | 11:35 | Dmitry MININ
…The policy of the West in Syria is myopic. It goes on losing control over the events in this country. In fact it gives refuge to terrorists and faces the prospect of raging terror spilling over to Europe. Hotbeds of Islamic extremism that appeared with the connivance of the West in the former Yugoslavia are sparked again under the influence of Middle East events. Europe appears to be threatened by a big fire…more
Chilean Military on Pentagon’ Service
23.02.2013 | 00:00 | Nil NIKANDROV
The Pentagon views Chile (along with Columbia) as the most reliable US partner. The Chilean Navy is responsible for Southern Pacific. Normally it tracks drug traffickers. But there is a more important mission: watching the routes of Russian and Chinese surface ships and submarines. The fight for the resources of the Asia-Pacific has just started and the Chile’s place was defined a long time ago… The US take advantage of the fact that since a long time the Chilean military considers Bolivia, Argentina and Peru as regional enemies. The Pentagon’s policy is focused on driving a wedge in the relations between Chili and its neighbors. The policy brings results…
Total Airport Nationalization Will Eliminate Travel Industry Thieves
22.02.2013 | 00:00 | Wayne MADSEN
Bolivian President Evo Morales recently nationalized his nation’s three main airports – La Paz, Cochabama, and Santa Cruz – taking control of the facilities from the firm Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos (SABSA) that operated the airports on behalf of the Barcelona-based company Albertis… Morales took a step that many Western governments should also take. As a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, a number of companies, many linked to Israelis, have concocted security schemes that have maximized profits for select individuals…
North Korea Ups Ante (II)
22.02.2013 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
The North Korean nuclear test gives the United States, South Korea and Japan and other countries an argument to justify joining the regional arms race and US ballistic missile defense efforts… North Korea is not the only country whose leadership has come to conclusion that going nuclear is the only way to survive as a sovereign state in the contemporary world where one country after another become victims of unprovoked armed interventions from outside, for instance: Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya…
How Much is UN Seat for Kosovo?
21.02.2013 | 11:37 | Pyotr ISKENDEROV
So, the price of Kosovo’s seat in the United Nations is «new investments» and setting the date for starting the European Union membership negotiations. The dramatic events in neighboring Bulgaria are a good example to illustrate what kind of investments are in store for the Balkans. There the European Union energy companies like CEZ, EON and EVN have established their own control over the energy market that resulted in a sharp socio-political crisis in the country. Actually, the government of Bulgaria has no control over the strategically important energy sector…
France’s War in Mali. Was it Started to Sell the New Rafale Fighter Jet?
21.02.2013 | 00:00 | Finian CUNNINGHAM
Only four days after France began bombing the West African country of Mali on 11 January with state-of-the-art Rafale fighter jets, President Francois Hollande and his foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, made a rather odd-looking trip to the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf… The urgent nature of the French delegation to Abu Dhabi and Dubai soon transpired. From media reports, top of the French agenda in the oil-rich emirates was a certain matter of business: a deal to sell the sheikhs Rafale fighter jets – the same fighter jets that were spearheading France’s «surprise» full-scale military intervention in Mali… But, as it turns out, the French sales pitch in the Persian Gulf was only a rehearsal for the real fighter-jet bonanza to come. Last week, one month after Operation Serval began in Mali, the French president flew to India…
Economic Cooperation Prevents Conflict of Interests in the Arctic
20.02.2013 | 00:00 | Igor ALEXEEV
New technologies and climate change have significantly raised the profile of Arctic resources for the global economy. According to the Economist, the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Many experts quoting Alfred T. Mahan’s work «The Influence of Sea Power Upon History” agree that seaborne commerce in the High North will become an important geopolitical factor over the next several decades. Prospects of political dominance in the Arctic provoke heated debates sometimes overdramatised by the media. But realpolitik dictates that all states concerned should rely on existing legal and institutional framework enabling peaceful cooperation…
Crisis of Papacy
20.02.2013 | 00:00 | Olga CHETVERIKOVA
The on-going events reflect the fact that the Catholic Church goes through crisis today. It has failed to stand up to the process of dechristianization spreading up in the Western society. Actually it is the collapse of the very institution of Papacy. A Pope’s resignation is usually outstanding news, but this time it was taken in stride by the world. It was perceived as an ordinary resignation, something that undermined even more the image of Pope as «God’s Lieutenant on earth» after a number of down to earth, mundane scandals shook Vatican…
North Korea Ups Ante (I)
19.02.2013 | 00:00 | Andrei AKULOV
On February 12 North Korea conducted a successful underground test at the Punggye-ri nuclear site (the north-western part of the country). It was a third test after two failures conducted in strict defiance of UN resolutions. The event is linked to launching a long-range rocket in December 2012. Back then it triggered U.N. sanctions, backed by Russia and China. North Korea described the test as a «preliminary measure» and threatened «stronger» actions unless the US ends its «hostility». The move brings it closer to developing a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a long-range missile and possibly bringing Guam, the Hawaii and even the US West Coast within the striking range…
The European Union and Russia: Old Faces, New Trends
19.02.2013 | 00:00 | Pyotr ISKENDEROV
…The upcoming general elections in Italy on 24-25 February may see the removal of the current rightwing coalition headed by Premier Mario Monti, who carried out the anti-crisis policy in line with recommendations from Brussels… In recent days, there have been many indications that the leadership of the European Union and the leaders of its member states, primarily Germany, are trying to interfere directly in the Italian election campaign in order to ensure victory for Mario Monti, regarded by Brussels as a manageable candidate…
Russia’s Strategic Nuclear Forces and Deterrence
18.02.2013 | 00:00 | Yuriy RUBTSOV
According to Russia’s stance, any country committing an act of aggression against it will have to face guaranteed retaliation. The Russian strategic forces have reached the critical stage: the US missile defense is capable of intercepting 600 – 700 ballistic missiles and is being upgraded. The estimates show that only the level of 1.5 thousand warheads guarantees the capability to strike on launch. The further strategic arms reductions without reaching an agreement on missile defense will devalue the Russia deterrence potential and create new threats to the security of Russia and international security in general…
The Shadow of Washington over the South China Sea
17.02.2013 | 00:00 | Vladislav GULEVICH
The South China Sea is turning into an area of continuous territorial disputes. Not long ago, Beijing and Tokyo clarified their position regarding ownership of the Senkaku (Diaoyudao) Islands, and then news agencies followed the twists and turns of the Chinese-Vietnamese diplomatic struggle for the right to own the oil and gas reserves on the nearby continental shelf. Now the Philippines want to have a say…
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The New Dark Age 