ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

More than 50 years after President Eisenhower's warning, Americans find themselves in perpetual war. By Jonathan Turley January 13, 2014 - In January 1961, US President Dwight D Eisenhower used his farewell address to warn the nation of what he viewed as one of its greatest threats: the military-industrial complex composed of military contractors and lobbyists perpetuating war. Eisenhower warned that "an immense military establishment and a large arms industry" had emerged as a hidden force in US politics and that Americans "must not fail to comprehend its grave implications". The speech may have been Eisenhower's most courageous and prophetic moment. Fifty years and some later, Americans find themselves in what seems like perpetual war. No sooner do we draw down on operations in Iraq than leaders demand an intervention in Libya or Syria or Iran. While perpetual war constitutes perpetual losses for families, and ever expanding budgets, it also represents per

By Finian Cunningham January 13, 2014 - Russian intelligence has now reportedly obtained solid proof that Saudi Arabia was directly involved in the twin terror attacks on the city of Volgograd. The attacks killed more than 32 people and injured over 100 others. Most of the victims were civilians. According to an informed Russian official source, reported by the Fars News Agency, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has informed President Vladimir Putin of the Saudi link to the Volgograd massacre. This will come as no surprise to Putin. The Russian leader was warned by the Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan during a heated four-hour private meeting back in July that Wahhabi-sponsored terrorists based in the North Caucasus region of Russia would be targeting the Sochi Winter Olympics. The Sochi Games are due to open on February 7. Volgograd is a key transport hub linking Moscow with the southern Russian territory and the Black Sea resort city of Sochi in particular, whe

Analysis EUROPE Jan. 13: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet in Paris to discuss the situation in Syria. Jan. 13-16: The European Parliament will hold a plenary session. Jan. 14: Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will visit the United Kingdom and is expected to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron. The Cypriot foreign, energy and finance ministers are also expected to visit the United Kingdom while Anastasiades is there. Jan. 16: French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will discuss the cost of France's military operations with the finance committee of the National Assembly. Jan. 16: Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to present Greece's goals for its time as EU president to the European Parliament. Jan. 16-17: A European Parliament delegation will be in Ireland to meet with Irish government officials and discuss the country's experience with the bailout program. Jan. 18: EasyJet cabin crew mem

Stratfor Summary Switzerland is at the geographic center of Europe and in many ways is thoroughly integrated with the European Union, but the country resists full institutional integration for strategic reasons. Bern's "discriminatory" approach to immigration drew the ire of the European commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion earlier this week. Through bilateral agreements, Switzerland tries to find a balance between independence and integration with the rest of Europe. Maintaining this balance will become more difficult as the European crisis lingers and Euroskeptical forces in Switzerland remain strong. Brussels, as well as core countries such as France and Germany, is likely to put additional pressure on Switzerland out of fear that its selective European integration strategy will gain momentum in EU countries, thus weakening the bloc's structures. However, this pressure is unlikely to be effective because the European Union's crisis has fur

Text Size Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas in December 2013. (LEO RAMIREZ/AFP/Getty Images) Summary With his presidency less stable than that of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President Nicolas Maduro appears to be using dialogue to try to gather allies from the political opposition. Maduro met on Jan. 8 with opponents, including former presidential challenger and Miranda state Gov. Henrique Capriles Radonski. Prompted by the murder of a national celebrity, the meeting focused on Venezuela's soaring crime rate. Maduro's government is attempting to begin a political dialogue with the opposition by increasing the number of meetings between them. If he is able to gain support from opposition members, Maduro would gain the added benefit of exploiting divisions within the opposition coalition, enabling himself to focus on addressing other national issues. Analysis The meeting is one of several formal contacts between the ruling United Socialist Party of Vene

Indian members of a special tactical unit, including personnel from a group skilled in anti-Naxalite operations, during a demonstration in Bhubaneswar on July 8, 2013. ASIT KUMAR/AFP/Getty Images Summary Indian media is touting the arrest of Gudsa Usendi, a spokesman for a regional committee of India's Maoist militant rebels known as Naxalites, as a significant victory for the country's counterterrorism efforts. Usendi, whose real name is Gumudavelli Venkatakrishna Prasad, served as the main media contact for the Dandakaranya Special Zone Committee's regional command structure. However, the surrender of a key figure within the country's Maoist insurgent movement is unlikely to be a blow to the Naxalites. As a regional-level public relations officer for the group, Prasad was probably not involved in operational details. Moreover, it takes more than the loss of one personality -- even a major figure -- to seriously degrade a militant network for any period of time. Prasa

A Thai anti-government protester at a rally outside Government House in Bangkok on Dec. 15. (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images) Summary As Thailand's opposition movement prepares to hold mass protests to "shut down" Bangkok on Jan. 13, the entire spectrum of royalist and establishment political forces seems to have hardened its position against the ruling Pheu Thai party and supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck, his sister and current prime minister. Most important, the Royal Thai Army has recently changed its tone in speaking about its willingness to stage a coup. Anti-government forces have created a situation in which they can either interfere with upcoming elections or deprive Pheu Thai of the authority an electoral victory would typically bestow. Meanwhile, Pheu Thai faces the quandary of retaining power amid these procedural and legal challenges while also managing the upcoming protests without tarnishing its image with

A Chinese bank staff member counts stacks of 100-yuan notes at a bank in Huaibei, east China's Anhui province, on Aug. 17, 2012. AFP/AFP/GettyImages Summary China's leaders are looking to balance steady, incremental reforms of the state-controlled banking sector with the need for stability and strong central oversight of the system. Recently released statistics from China's National Audit Office point to the growing imbalances plaguing China's financial system and highlight the need to stabilize credit expansion and reform the relationship between local governments, state-owned enterprises and state-owned banks. These are critical components of Beijing's ambition to move toward a more sustainable model of economic growth. Analysis The need for reform has been echoed in the weeks following the Communist Party's November Third Plenary session, at which President Xi Jinping and his colleagues pledged to allow market forces to play a decisive role in the allocation