ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Dusseldorf, the neighbouring city to migrant sex attack capital Cologne is the first German city to see a new citizen protection league since the new year’s attacks, with thousands signing up to do their part. Declaring “one for all, and all for one”, the motto of Sweden and a saying commonly associated with the Three Musketeers the new ‘Dusseldorf is Watching’ group already had 2,300 members after it was launched on Facebook last night. The group intends to provide protection at major events and in city centres at weekends to ensure the safety of their fellow Germans, reports the Rheinische Post. While the desire to “protect our ladies future” appears sincere the group has already come under attack not only by police who maintain law enforcement should remain firmly their own responsibility, but also by the press who have labelled the group “absurd” and criticised it for including members of biker gangs. A spokesman for Dusseldorf police told local media of the emergence of the vig...

Iran has accused Saudi Arabia of using warplanes to attack the Iranian embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana'a. Some guards were reportedly wounded in the attack, according to state news channel IRIB. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen says it will investigate the accusation, according to coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, as cited by Reuters. Asseri acknowledged that coalition jets carried out heavy airstrikes in Sana'a on Wednesday night, targeting missile launchers used by the Houthi militia. He added that the group has used civilian facilities, including abandoned embassies. He said the coalition had requested that all countries supply the coordinates of their diplomatic missions, adding that accusations made on the basis of information provided by the Houthis "have no credibility." The Saudi-led coalition, which is supported by the US, is targeting Houthi rebels aligned with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned in 2012 following ...

Nearly two years since U.S. officials helped foment a coup in Ukraine – partly justified by corruption allegations – the country continues to wallow in graft and cronyism as the living standards for average Ukrainians plummet, according to economic data and polls of public attitudes. Even the neocon-oriented Wall Street Journal took note of the worsening corruption in a Jan. 1, 2016 article observing that “most Ukrainians say the revolution’s promise to replace rule by thieves with the rule of law has fallen short and the government acknowledges that there is still much to be done.” Actually, the numbers suggest something even worse. More and more Ukrainians rate corruption as a major problem facing the nation, including a majority of 53 percent last September, up from 48 percent last June and 28 percent in September 2014, according to polls by International Foundation for Electoral Systems. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s GDP has fallen in every quarter since the Feb. 22, 2014 putsch that overt...

Considering that upwards of one million migrants and refugees poured into Germany in 2015—about five times the number of arrivals during the previous year—the level of social peace and the sense of hospitality that had prevailed until now in Germany is remarkable. There was some backlash to the refugee influx last year. PEGIDA, a right-wing, anti-Islam movement, could draw about 10,000 people on to the streets at rallies in the fall. And German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who broke with her decade-long practice of cautious incrementalism to throw open Germany’s doors to migrants, saw her seemingly impervious political armour dented. Her own finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, in November criticized her for triggering an “avalanche” of refugees into Germany with what he likened to a bit of careless skiing. Yet in her New Year’s Eve address to Germans, Merkel felt confident enough to double-down on her refugee policy. Wearing a festive red dress, she acknowledged the “major challenge” pre...

Finian CUNNINGHAM The Saudi execution of senior Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr is but the latest in a series of provocations towards regional rival Iran. The furious reaction from Shiite Iran to the beheading of Nimr – a renowned Islamic scholar – and the severance of diplomatic ties between the two countries appears to be a calculated winding up of tensions by the Sunni Saudi rulers. But the real objective for Saudi Arabia is more likely to embroil its political patron in Washington in a sharper regional conflict – a conflict that would also lead to a conflagration with Russia. The reaction of Washington to the execution of Saudi-born cleric Nimr al-Nimr was one of «surprise», according to the New York Times. That suggests the Saudi rulers went rogue on the move. The Times noted that the Obama administration is worried that the cleric’s death could «jeopardize diplomatic efforts in the region» – which is probably exactly what the Saudi regime wants. Nimr was executed at the weeken...

Libertarian Congressman responds to President Obama's executive order on guns. By Robby Soave While numerous skeptics of the idea that stronger gun control would meaningfully curb mass shootings or reduce murders have assailed President Obama's proposed executive action on guns as foolhardy, Rep. Justin Amash formulated a different criticism of the plan. He tweeted: So, the guy who sells guns from our government to radical Syrian rebels lectures law-abiding Americans about selling guns to each other.— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 5, 2016 Perhaps an overlooked loophole in the gun debate is the one that permits the federal government to sell weapons to Syrian rebels without an up-to-date declaration of war against the opposing forces of ISIS and Bashar al-Assad. As for violence in the U.S., Amash wrote that the government should focus on "conditions that lead to violence: mental health issues, lack of economic opportunity, unfair criminal justice system," rathe...