ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Analysis The unusual Sept. 4 arrest of a South Korean member of parliament highlights the continuing divisions seen in South Korean politics and has reignited calls for the reform of the National Intelligence Service. The agency's dual internal and external roles have long been the subject of debate, and if that debate is reopened, Seoul's intelligence efforts with regard to North Korea could be hampered in the short term. The South Korean National Intelligence Service detained opposition United Progressive Party member Lee Seok Ki on Sept. 4, just hours after the country's National Assembly approved the rare arrest of a sitting lawmaker. Lee is accused of attempting to foment an uprising against the South Korean government in coordination with North Korea. He is also charged with calling on supporters to prepare arms and explosives for a strike against South Korean infrastructure in the event that Pyongyang launches an attack. Because lawmakers are immune t

Analysis The Naval Update Map shows the approximate current locations of U.S. Carrier Strike Groups and Amphibious Ready Groups, based on available open-source information. No classified or operationally sensitive information is included in this weekly update. CSGs and ARGs are the keys to U.S. dominance of the world's oceans. A CSG is centered on an aircraft carrier, which projects U.S. naval and air power and supports a Carrier Air Wing, or CVW. The CSG includes significant offensive strike capability. An ARG is centered on three amphibious warfare ships, with a Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked. An MEU is built around a heavily reinforced and mobile battalion of Marines. Carrier Strike Groups The USS Nimitz CSG with CVW 11 embarked is conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR. The USS Harry S Truman CSG with CVW 3 embarked is under way in the U.S. 5th Fleet AOR supporting maritime security op

White House praises committee vote, which sets 60-day limit on any Syria engagement and bars use of U.S. ground troops in combat operations. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution on Wednesday authorizing a limited U.S. military intervention in Syria , setting the stage for a debate in the full Senate next week on the use of military force. The committee voted 10-7 in favor of a compromise resolution that sets a 60-day limit on any engagement in Syria and bars the use of U.S. troops on the ground for combat operations. Haaretz in depth coverage of the crisis in Syria : Obama, Syria and the prospect of an Israeli attack on Iran (Amos Harel ) || Former Syrian defense minister defects in break with Assad (Reuters) ||   U.S. intervention in Syria - humanitarian action or a new imperialism (Aeyal Gross)  ||  What Congress should learn from Auschwitz before the Syria vote (Gregory J. Wallance) The White House praised the decision, which was voted on on

A  recent article  on the Telegraph’s blogs is pointing to a  hacker post on pastebin  showing that the chemical attacks in Syria were a staged event. A hacker gained access to U.S. Army Col. Anthony J. MacDonald’s email account by first gaining access to his LinkedIn account. Within the enormous haul of emails collected, the hacker noticed a communication between MacDonald and one of his colleagues, Eugene Furst. Furst congratulates the Col. for his recent successes and gives him a link to the Washington Post article about the chemical attacks in Syria on August 21st. Next, a friend of MacDonald’s wife Jennifer wrote that she was shocked to see all of the children killed in the chemical attack. Jennifer replies that she saw the story but, “Tony comforted me. He said the kids weren’t hurt, it was done for the cameras.” The authenticity of the emails has not been confirmed, but there are several other facts that seem to bolster the findings. Back in June, a gr

  Published time: May 30, 2013 16:56 Edited time: May 31, 2013 12:02 Get short URL Download video Turkish security forces found a 2kg cylinder with sarin gas after searching the homes of Syrian militants from the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front who were previously detained, Turkish media reports. The gas was reportedly going to be used in a bomb. The sarin gas was found in the homes of suspected Syrian Islamists detained in the southern provinces of Adana and Mersia following a search by Turkish police on Wednesday, reports say. The gas was allegedly going to be used to carry out an attack in the southern Turkish city of Adana. On Monday, Turkish special anti-terror forces arrested 12 suspected members of the Al-Nusra Front, the Al-Qaeda affiliated group which has been dubbed "the most aggressive and successful arm” of the Syrian rebels. The group was designated a terrorist organization by the United States in December. Police also reportedly found a cac

MOSCOW | Wed Sep 4, 2013 12:09pm BST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is sending a missile cruiser to the east Mediterranean to take over the navy's operations in the region, state agency Interfax quoted a military source as saying on Wednesday, as the United States prepares for a possible military strike in Syria . President Barack Obama has won backing from key figures in the U.S. Congress in his call for limited U.S. strikes on Syria to punish President Bashar al-Assad for his suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.   The ship, Moskva, will take over operations from a naval unit in the region that Moscow says is needed to protect national interests. It will be joined by a destroyer from Russia's Baltic Fleet and a frigate from the Black Sea Fleet. "The Cruiser Moskva is heading to the Gibraltar Straits. In approximately 10 days it will enter the east Mediterranean, where it will take over as the flagship of the naval task force," the sour

(NaturalNews) A water product sold at Wal-Mart and Walgreens and intended to be used to make infant formula has been found to contain a chemical the international media describes as the same "chemical weapon" involved in the political crisis with Syria. This "chemical weapon" is intentionally added to a drinking water product called "Nursery Water" that's sold at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Safeway, Rite Aid and many other nationwide retailers, including Toys "R" Us. The international press refers to this "chemical weapon" as something that can be used to "make a deadly nerve gas" known as sarin. Here's some of what the international media reports about this chemical: The Guardian : "...to sell chemicals capable of being used to make nerve gas to a country in the middle of a civil war." The Daily Record : "BRITAIN allowed firms to sell chemicals to Syria capable of being used to make nerve gas, the Sunday Mail