ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

“Russia is ready to respond to any provocation, but the last thing the Russians want is another war. And that, if you like good news, is the best news you are going to hear.” A whiff of World War III hangs in the air. In the US, Cold War 2.0 is on, and the anti-Russian rhetoric emanating from the Clinton campaign, echoed by the mass media, hearkens back to McCarthyism and the red scare. In response, many people are starting to think that Armageddonmight be nigh—an all-out nuclear exchange, followed by nuclear winter and human extinction. It seems that many people in the US like to think that way. Goodness gracious! But, you know, this is hardly unreasonable of them. The US is spiraling down into financial, economic and political collapse, losing its standing in the world and turning into a continent-sized ghetto full of drug abuse, violence and decaying infrastructure, its population vice-ridden, poisoned with genetically modified food, morbidly obese, exploited by predatory police dep...

"Here it comes" may be the simplest explanation of developments inside Syria one day after Turkey sent troops and tanks across Syria's border. Russia has asked Iraq to close its northern airports due to a pending Russian military strike. Russian government has announced that it aims to launch an operation in Syria "against ISIS," urging Iraqi officials to cancel all flights in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports in order to prevent any hazardous incidents from happening. According to Itartas, Russian news agency, Russia announced that it is set to launch an extensive military operation under the title “pervasive destruction,” using 69 Sukhoi fighters, Tupolev bomber 160, submarines and ships in Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, Russian state has urged Iraq to put a halt to the operation of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah airports in a move to prepare for the upcoming military operations. Russia, which has already launched its air strikes since some time ago aims to extend its p...

Russia is trying to coordinate with the United States in Syria and has denied any violation of UN resolutions in its use of an Iran air base, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "The main task is to finally establish coordination in resolving the Syrian crisis...We are discussing this through military, intelligence and foreign ministries," Lavrov said Wednesday at a press conference after meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully in Moscow. Lavrov said the talks were focused on specific mechanisms to implement agreements reached during a visit by U.S. State Secretary John Kerry to Moscow last month. He said Moscow and Washington are discussing with the United Nations the possibility of opening additional humanitarian corridors in the northern city Aleppo and its vicinity controlled by the Syrian army and opposition militants. The two countries were also examining the prospect of increasing control over cargo crossing the Turkish-Syrian border...

As many as 46 Islamic States (IS) militants have been killed so far in Turkey's operation in northern Syria, Dogan News agency reported on Wednesday. Turkey-backed Syrian rebels, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), have now taken four villages in northern Syrian, Dogan said. Turkish jets and tanks along with howitzers are reportedly still barraging IS targets in Jarablus in northern Syria. It was the first time for Turkish F-16s to enter Syrian airspace since a Russian jet was shot down last November. A statement issued by the prime minister's office said the cross-border operation was aimed at driving out IS terrorist militants. The "Euphrates Shield" operation, which began at 4 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), aims to expunge Turkish borders of terrorist groups, enhance border security and uphold Syria's territorial integrity, the statement said. Preventing another influx of migrants and delivering necessary aid to the region's civilian population are also among the oper...