ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

All the signs are that the freaks in Kiev have decided to put down the demonstrations in Kharkov, Donetsk and Lugansk by force. YouTube is full of amateur footage showing all sorts of militarized units, APCs and even artillery pieces being moved towards these cities. Local people have tried to stop them, but without success. It appears that the attacking force will include loyal cops from other cities, regular military units, private contractors hired by the oligarchs, riot police, "anti-terrorist" units of the SBU and volunteers from the Right Sector. Facing them are crowds of largely unarmed or minimally armed civilians. In Lugansk some of these civilians have looted the SBU armory and have assault rifles (AKM-74s). The crowds are relatively large, but not huge, most of the local activists have taken up positions inside key government buildings which they occupy and while there are some barricades around these buildings, they do not appear to be properly defended, at l

By Naomi Klein " The Guardian " - The way to beat Vladimir Putin is to flood the European market with fracked-in-the-USA natural gas, or so the industry would have us believe. As part of escalating anti-Russian hysteria, two bills have been introduced into the US Congress – one in the House of Representatives ( H.R. 6 ), one in the Senate ( S. 2083 ) – that attempt to fast-track liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, all in the name of helping Europe to wean itself from Putin's fossil fuels, and enhancing US national security. According to Cory Gardner, the Republican congressman who introduced the House bill, "opposing this legislation is like hanging up on a 911 call from our friends and allies". And that might be true – as long as your friends and allies work at Chevron and Shell, and the emergency is the need to keep profits up amid dwindling supplies of conventional oil and gas. For this ploy to work, it's important not to look too closely at details. Lik

By Alex Lantier  Ukraine stands on the brink of civil war, as the unelected pro-Western regime that seized power this February in Kiev threatens a bloody crackdown on protesters occupying local government offices in cities across traditionally pro-Russian sections of eastern Ukraine. Protesters are demanding a referendum to federalize Ukraine and limit the authority of the new, far-right regime in Kiev. Some protesters have also called on their areas to vote to join Russia, as the former Ukrainian region of Crimea did last month, or declared independent “people’s republics” in Donetsk and Kharkiv. Andrei Senchenko, the deputy head of the presidential administration in Kiev, said his regime’s security forces would “shoot to kill” if protesters did not abandon buildings in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv by today. Senchenko’s threats echoed those of Irina Farion, a legislator from the Fatherland Party of US-backed Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk. She demanded death for the protesters sa

by Ramsey Clark and Abdeen Jabara - We recently visited Egypt leading a delegation of lawyers to observe the situation of human rights in that country. We were troubled by what we saw and heard. We are also troubled by the United States’ support for a government installed by a military coup. The United States and more than 160 States have agreed to respect and ensure the right to participate in one’s government, for example, by agreeing to article 25 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. Nevertheless, as this right came under serious attack in Egypt, the United States continues to support the Egyptian military as it imposes its will on the Egyptian people. This support should stop until and unless the freely and fairly elected government is restored. The military coup that took place in Egypt on 3 July 2013 is a serious violation of the right to participate in one’s democracy. It is a violation of the rights of the majority voters in the Egypt’s presidential and

  Click to Enlarge A recent escalation in militant attacks on oil pipelines in eastern Colombia has taken about 3 percent of Colombia's daily oil production offline, according to government figures. Amid the escalation, Colombian state energy firm Ecopetrol on April 7 declared force majeure on some shipments of crude oil. The renewed targeting of oil infrastructure is probably tied to the ongoing negotiations between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, also known by its Spanish acronym, FARC. The rebel group, likely in conjunction with the smaller National Liberation Army , or ELN, is probably using the attacks as leverage ahead of the country's presidential election on May 25. Although rebel groups have used explosives to target Colombia's oil pipelines for decades, the recent attacks against the pipelines in the Colombian departments of Norte de Santander and Arauca -- combined with protest activity -- have proved particularly disruptive. On Apr

Members of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany arrive for a hearing on Feb. 11.(ULI DECK/AFP/Getty Images) Summary The rise of nationalist parties such as the National Front in France and Jobbik in Hungary has been well publicized, but a more subtle challenge to European integration is emerging from constitutional courts and national parliaments. Reports that Berlin is investigating potential reforms to gain greater parliamentary control over the German constitutional court show that the main economic and political force in Europe can already foresee much larger institutional hurdles in its attempts to stabilize the eurozone. With no end in sight for the eurozone crisis, Europe's perennial tension between integration and national sovereignty will only intensify. EU member states will eventually begin serious negotiations to reform the bloc's institutional framework. These negotiations will be contentious at the EU level, but for Germany they could also ignite serious de

Foreign ministers from the Nordic, Baltic and Visegrad countries meet in Narva, Estonia, on March 7 to discuss the crisis in Ukraine.(MARKO MUMM/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Despite their strong Western integration, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are vulnerable to Russian destabilization tactics via energy, trade, political and cultural links. It is highly unlikely that Russia would intervene militarily in Estonia, a NATO member, to protect ethnic Russians. More concerning than a military conflict with Russia is the prospect of trade blockades, a step that could quickly damage the Baltics economically, with little Western allies could do to help. But Moscow's most likely move is to use the ethnic Russian minority living in the Baltic states -- a minority that constitutes more than a quarter of the population in Estonia and Latvia and around 6 percent in Lithuania -- to attempt to destabilize the three countries. Analysis In light of Russian actions in Ukraine allegedly designed to prot

A U.S. F-15C Eagle readies for takeoff at Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania on April 1. (PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Lacking the capability to secure their sovereign airspace, the Baltic states have long relied upon NATO members to provide assistance and support. As Russia continues to assert itself across its Western periphery, the issue of collective defense has become compelling for many former Soviet states. For countries such as Bulgaria, which can only respond to airspace incursions with a small number of aging aircraft, a mission like the Baltic air patrol would solve many problems. Analysis The NATO Baltic Air Policing mission has been ongoing since March 30, 2004, and provides interceptors for the policing of Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian airspace. The Baltic states currently do not have the assets to provide their own airspace security. Click to Enlarge The mission has been carried out in various rotations, typically lasting two to four months, and is part of th