ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

by Matthew Barber   Al-Qaida and Jabhat al-Nusra have each declared an Islamic State in Syria, in their own way. And by the way, Jabhat al-Nusra is al-Qaida. T he head of al-Nusra, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, finally confirmed the obvious through an official declaration of allegiance. An Islamic State in Syria? For Real? Al-Qaida in Iraq already styles itself as the “Islamic State in Iraq” (ISI). The difference between it and Jabhat al-Nusra is that the latter actually controls territory, making the declaration of a state cause for a moment of disconcerted reflection: If Jabhabt al-Nusra currently administers various villages and cities (such as Raqqa) through a manifestation of Islamist governance embodied in shari’a councils, and if Jabhat al-Nusra is al-Qaida, then it’s not absurd to say that something resembling a rough patchwork of quasi city-states has been established by al-Qaida in Syria. This is a strange station that no one expected to arrive at when the Syrian uprising

Bomb pieces, circuit board found; FBI requests tips Investigators combing through the grim aftermath of the deadly Boston Marathon terrorist attack have found evidence that timing devices were used Monday to detonate the bombs that ripped through race spectators on Boylston Street, said an official briefed on the investigation. Working with fragments painstakingly gathered at what is considered the city’s largest-ever crime scene, they also ­determined that the two bombs were probably fashioned from 6-liter pressure cookers, filled with nails and small ball bearings, like buckshot, to increase the carnage, and then hidden in black nylon bags or backpacks and left on the ground. FBI bomb experts at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., will try to rebuild the devices from fragments that include a circuit board that indicated the bombs were detonated on a timer, rather than remote control. The bombs, which detonated 12 seconds apart just after 2:50 p.m. Monday near the finish line o

CHINA'S defence ministry made a thinly veiled attack on the United States today for increasing tensions in the Asia-Pacific by ramping up its military presence and alliances in the region. Days after the top U.S. diplomat visited Beijing over tensions on the Korean peninsula, China has revealed it is uneasy with what the US has called the "rebalancing" of forces as Washington winds down the war in Afghanistan and renews its attention in the Asia-Pacific. China says the policy has emboldened Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam in longstanding territorial disputes. China faces "multiple and complicated security threats" despite its growing influence, the Ministry of Defence said in its annual white paper, adding that the U.S. strategy meant "profound changes" for the region. "There are some countries which are strengthening their Asia Pacific military alliances, expanding their military presence in the region and frequently make the situation t

The United Nations warns that opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has been on the rise for the third year in a row and it is expected to hit a record high. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) issued a report entitled “The Afghanistan Opium Winter Risk Assessment 2013” on Monday. According to the report, although the exact figure for opium production in 2013 is still unclear, it is expected to surpass the 154,000 hectares planted in 2012, and the 131,000 hectares in 2011. The report predicted that out of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, 12 provinces are expected to increase their opium production, while no major change is expected in seven others. “The southern region is expected to remain the largest opium cultivating region in Afghanistan in 2013. Poppy cultivation in Helmand and Kandahar, the main opium cultivating provinces in the country, is expected to increase and Helmand is expected to retain its status as the largest opium cultivating province in the country,” the repo

North Korea has vowed to launch a military attack on South Korea without any warning if the South continues its anti-North activities. North Korea's military issued the stark warning on Monday in response to what it said were insults from the "puppet authorities" in the South, AFP reported. Earlier on Monday, protesters in Seoul burned portraits of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung, his son Kim Jong-Il, and grandson and current leader Kim Jong-un. Monday also marked the 101st birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, a day North Korea reveres as "The Day of the Sun." "All the service personnel and people of the DPRK (North Korea) are simmering with towering resentment at this monstrous criminal act," the army's supreme command said in a statement. The statement gave South Korea an "ultimatum" to end its hostile policies towards the North and warned that North Korea would not give any advance notice before attacking the South. "Our reta

An American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter has crashed in South Korea near the North Korean border, a South Korean defense official says. The official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the incident took place during ongoing South Korea-US joint military exercises in Cheolwon county of Kangwon Province bordering the North. "The number of casualties was not immediately confirmed with an investigation currently underway to also identify the exact cause of the crash," South Korean Yonhap news agency quoted military sources as saying. The incident comes at a time of heightened military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of escalating military rhetoric following the participation of nuclear-capable US B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in its recent joint military exercises with South Korea. The moves by the US prompted North Korea to step up its war rhetoric, authorizing its army to launch 'preemptive nuclear strikes' on the

The death toll from a spate of bomb attacks across Iraq has exceeded 55 with almost 200 injures, security and medical sources say. On Monday, six car bombs went off in five neighborhoods of the capital, Baghdad. Eleven people were killed and more than 50 others wounded in the explosions. Three car bombs were also detonated in quick succession in Tuz Khurmatu, situated about 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad, at around 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) in the center and east of the town. The blasts killed six people and wounded more than 60 others. Another three car bombs ripped through the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, situated about 290 kilometers (175 miles) north of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 30 others. Meanwhile, 14 people were wounded in the city of Nasiriyah, situated about 305 kilometers (190 miles) south of Baghdad, when two explosives-laden cars exploded. Explosions also occurred in the city of Hilla, situated about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of

The great advantage of drones for western governments is they can be used without domestic casualties and therefore, they hope, without the risk of popular opposition or protest. By Chris Nineham April 15, 2013  - RAF Waddington will soon be the control centre for British drone warfare. It may already be, we can't be sure. The fact we don't know testifies to the secrecy that surrounds the operation of these remote control killing machines. Drones embody the sinister shift that has been taken in the West's wars post Iraq. They blur the distinction between war and state execution, with no chance for public scrutiny. Britain has been using drones in Afghanistan for some years. But by developing its drone capability, the British government is now stepping up its global ability to conduct arbitrary assassinations. Official US language shows droes are normalizing such behaviour. There has been next to no public discussion about their use in Britain, but in the US drones are actua