ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The US has  announced  that it’s offering a total of $12 million in rewards for the capture of two senior Hezbollah members, saying the Shia group is plotting attacks inside the US. The announcement comes as Washington contemplates canceling the Iran nuclear deal. A $7-million bounty applies to Talal Hamiyah, head of Hezbollah’s external operations. Another $5 million is being offered for Fuad Shukr, the group’s senior military official, accused of masterminding a 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 241 US Marines. “It’s our assessment that Hezbollah is determined to give itself a potential homeland option as a critical component of its terrorism playbook,” US National Counterterrorism Center Director Nicholas Rasmussen said, citing recent arrests of alleged Hezbollah operatives in New York and Michigan. “And that is something that those of us in the counter-terrorism community take very, very seriously.” The State Department designated Hezbollah as a for...

KCNA/REUTERS North Korea may conduct a new missile test on October 18, the beginning of China’s 19th Party Congress, as an opportunity to act out amidst the growing tensions in the region. “The Kim regime usually uses these sorts of occasions to demonstrate some show of strength — in this current climate a missile test is a likely result,”  said  Dr Genevieve Hohnen, lecturer in politics and international relations at Edith Cowan University. Last month, Beijing announced its intention to restrict trade with North Korea on several key items, including textiles, seafood and petroleum products, in compliance with the U.N.’s latest resolution. As such a missile test would be a show of strength, intended to make North Korea’s big neighbor to decisively pick a side. This might prove especially prudent, considering the fact that US Navy destroyer  sailed  near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on October 10, to which Beijing reacted negatively, c...

Bulgarian and NATO navy ships take part in a Bulgarian-NATO military navy exercise in the Black Sea, east of Sofia [Getty] NATO launched a new multinational force in Romania on October 9 to counter Russian presence in the Black Sea,  Reuters  reports. The force is to be built around a Romanian brigade of up to 4,000 soldiers, supported by troops from nine other NATO countries. It’s going to complement a separate deployment of 900 US troops who are already in place. Apart from Romania, Poland is the biggest troop contributor. Bulgaria, Italy and Portugal will train regularly with the force in Craiova, and Germany is also expected to contribute. The plans include additional air support from Italy, Canada, and Britain to give the force greater capabilities. “Our purpose is peace, not war,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis told the NATO Parliamentary Assembly of alliance lawmakers, which is meeting this year in Bucharest. The establishment of the force comes follow...

Written by  The Saker ; Originally appeared at  The Unz Review The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 did mark the end of the longest experiment in Communism in recent history. Many saw this event as the proof that Communism (or Marxism-Leninism, I use these interchangeably here) was not a viable ideology. After all, if in Russia Communism was formally ended in 1991, the Chinese quietly shifted away from it too, replacing it with a uniquely Chinese brand of capitalism. Finally, none of the ex-Soviet “allies” chose to stick to the Communist ideology as soon as they recovered their freedom. Even Chavez’ brand of Communism resulted in a completely bankrupt Venezuela. So what’s there to argue about? Actually, a great deal, beginning with every single word in the paragraph above. Communism – the past: For one thing, the Soviet Union never collapsed. It was dismantled from above by the CPSU party leaders who decided that the Soviet  nomenklatura  would split up ...

Written by  Brandon Smith ; Originally appeared at  Alt-Market.com I set aside some time for more details of the Vegas shooting to emerge before writing this article. A few important data points have been released, but I have to say that this remains one of the most confusing terror incidents in decades. FILE IMAGE: REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson The tactical and strategic thought applied in this attack denotes a sophisticated and experienced shooter, yet, we are told by Stephen Paddock’s family and girlfriend that there was no indication that he had such knowledge or experience. There were some advanced tactical decisions involved in every aspect of the staging of the event, yet, there were also a few glaring mistakes that do not fit. Beyond this, there is evidence that Paddock (the alleged shooter) did not act alone, yet, the official mainstream narrative continues to tell us that he was a lone wolf. Now, every terror event these days produces an endless supply of alterna...