ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Saudi Arabia will join the nuclear club by buying “off the shelf” atomic weapons from Pakistan, US officials told a London newspaper. The Saudis — who financed much of Pakistan’s nuke program — are fearful of international efforts to keep its enemy Iran from acquiring a bomb, the Sunday Times of London reports. The Saudis think the deal, backed by President Obama, will actually accelerate Iran’s nuke push. Saudi Arabia has talked for years about acquiring a bomb from the Pakistanis. “The House of Saud has now made the strategic decision to move forward,” a former US defense official said.

A T-14 tank with the Armata Universal Combat Platform (RIA Novosti / Mikhail Voskresenskiy) It made an impressive debut during the Victory parade in Moscow, Russia’s brand-new ‘supertank’ is still shrouded in mystery, and has proved a magnet for rumors. Here is what we know for sure. 1. Armata is not the name of a tank, but an armored platform, onto which modules will be fitted to create more than a dozen vehicles. Besides the T-14 battle tank, it will be the chassis for a personnel carrier, self-propelled artillery and an air defense system. 2. The T-14 is the first Russian tank designed entirely in the post-Soviet era, and in only six years. The design and production of certain crucial elements – such as the armor, and the turrets – had to be done “from scratch.” 3. Armata T-14 features a fully automated and unmanned turret – perhaps the most revolutionary technological decision taken by its designers. In theory, this should allow better protection for the crew, now located in the hu...

The results of the one-day meeting in Riyadh amongst the heads of the Cooperation Council for Arab States of the Gulf (the first time it was attended by the President of France Francois Hollande) gave a crystal clear look at the tough trend to be continued by these leaders into a future military solution to the Yemen conflict. The joint decision communiqué states: “Leaders of the GCC reiterated their unconditional support for Saudi Arabia at the head of the Operation Determination Storm, which was carried out to restore the rule of law in Yemen. The leaders were satisfied with the outcome of a significantly positive campaign outcome and launched a new Operation Renewal of Hope in response to the request from Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi to restore its legitimacy and to resume the political process in accordance with our initiative in the Gulf.” Put simply, the President of Yemen called to the so-called Arab Coalition, who, abandoning self-preservation, leapt to his aid, leve...

F. William Engdahl First appeared: On April 26 Russia’s main national TV station, Rossiya 1, featured President Vladimir Putin in a documentary to the Russian people on the events of the recent period including the annexation of Crimea, the US coup d’etat in Ukraine, and the general state of relations with the United States and the EU. His words were frank. And in the middle of his remarks the Russian former KGB chief dropped a political bombshell that was known by Russian intelligence two decades ago. Putin stated bluntly that in his view the West would only be content in having a Russia weak, suffering and begging from the West, something clearly the Russian character is not disposed to. Then a short way into his remarks, the Russian President stated for the first time publicly something that Russian intelligence has known for almost two decades but kept silent until now, most probably in hopes of an era of better normalized Russia-US relations. Putin stated that the terror in Ch...