STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Africa: Mali, Nigeria, and the Bigger Picture
The Mali War will be neither simple nor quick, ‘though the players all wish it so.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Mali: Center Stage
The international community finally began addressing the issue of Islamist fighters in Mali. This provided an opportunity for Nigeria, in particular, to rebuild its own security and political stability. But there was still no guarantee that the opportunity would be grasped.
HARDWARE, WEAPONRY & TECHNOLOGY
Syrian Acquisition of Iraqi Chemical Weapons Noted in 2002; Qatar Now Reported Entering WMD Market
All is not as it seemed with the international media reporting in early December 2012 of the Syrian Government’s alleged preparation of sarin-based chemical weapons for (presumed) use against domestic insurgents.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Beirut Assassination Showed Lebanese Involvement in Anti-Syrian Fighting
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Turkey Stumbles, But Washington Pushed
The mid-October 2012 Turkish interception of an alleged Syrian military shipment was intended to build momentum for the case to intervene in Syria. But it backfired, and may have damaged US-Turkish trust, and given the upper hand to Moscow.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Israel’s Sudan Air Strike: a Message and a Mission
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SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
The New 9/11 Attacks: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy
The surge in jihadist attacks on US diplomatic missions in September 2012 largely obscured the complex realities around a number of individual incidents and locales, particularly with regard to the Libyan situation.
PERSONNEL
Key Transitions and Defense and Intelligence Appointments - 07/2012
GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
The Maghreb: Can Libya Repel the Invaders and Survive?
Libyans went, on July 7, 2012, into their first national elections in decades, and foreign observers hailed the fact that democracy had returned to the Maghreb state.
CRIME & CORRUPTION
Iran at Its Strategic Juncture
Iran, no less than the European Union or the United States, faces a series of problems which place it at a critical strategic junction. It now faces urgent challenges, the response to which will determine its viability — even its survival — over the coming decades.
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
EN CLAIR | Prince Bandar Takes Saudi Intelligence Leadership
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