ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The global arms trade is huge. While it’s hard to pin down an exact value of arms transfers, VisualCapitalist's Jeff Desjardins notes the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that the number was at least $76 billion in 2013, with the caveat that it is likely higher. The volume of transfers have been trending upwards now for roughly 15 years. Volume of Arms Transfers Courtesy of: SIPRI But where are these arms going? The answer, as VisualCapitalist's Jeff Desjardins explains, is that they are increasingly going to militarize the Middle East, which has increased imports of arms by 61% in 2011-2015, compared to the previous five year period. The Syrian Civil War now entering its sixth year, and it’s clear that conflict is stopping no time soon in the Middle East. As a result of this and the various proxy wars, complicated relationships , and a continuing threat from ISIS, neighboring countries in the region have loaded up on arms. That’s why Saudi Arabia,

The Daesh militant group used chemical weapons for attack on the northern Iraqi town of Taza, a spokesman for Shiite militia al-Hashd ash-Shaabi said Saturday. DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — In February, CIA Director John Brennan said that Daesh had used chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq, and had capabilities to produce small amounts of mustard gas or chlorine gas and possibly export it to the Western countries. "Southern part of Taza has become the target for a heavy attack conducted by Daesh militants. During the attack, the terrorists have launched two missiles rigged with toxic substances from [the settlement of] Kasbah al-Bashir," Ali Huseini said, as quoted by the Al Sumaria television broadcaster. © SPUTNIK/ EXCLUSIVE: Daesh Used Corrosive Chemicals Against Iraqi Civilians (PHOTO, VIDEO) Huseini added that the Iraqi authorities should take steps to provide the region with necessary security, as well as to liberate the region controlled by Daesh . Daesh is a terrorist group, wh

Syrian Army troops and allied popular units have significantly advanced against Daesh terrorists in the southeastern parts of Aleppo province and are now moving towards the Euphrates and its nearby regions in Raqqa province, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. "The Syrian army, Liwa al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigade), the National Defense Forces (NDF) and Kataebat al-Ba’ath (Al-Ba’ath Battalions have secured the southern bank of Al-Hamourat Lake in southeastern Aleppo, while also making a substantial advance towards al-Maskanah Plain," Fars News wrote citing military sources on the ground. © SPUTNIK/ Dealing a Blow: Syrian Army Destroys Daesh Command Center, Firing Positions Near Palmyra On Thursday, government forces seized the main headquarters of the Daesh terrorist group in the northeastern neighborhoods of Khanasser town whose full control was recently won back by Syrian forces. Earlier the Syrian army and volunteer forces retook full control of five villages in close vicinity o

New mercenaries of the US company DynCorp have recently arrived in Yemen to fight rebels in the country. They should replace the mercenaries of the company Blackwater, many of whom had been killed in battle, German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) reported. The first mercenaries of the private US military company DynCorp arrived on Wednesday at the Yemeni port of Ras Omran southwest of Aden. They will replace Blackwater's mercenaries, since the latter were unable to defeat the Houthi rebels, DWN wrote , citing the Greek newspaper tribune. © AP PHOTO/ HANI MOHAMMED Yemen Receives Just 2% of Required $1.8Bln in Aid In recent weeks, about 39 Blackwater soldiers were killed in Yemen during the fighting. For instance, on February 1 the US Blackwater Commander Nicholas Boutros was killed in battle in the Yemeni province of Lahij. The deployment of new DynCorp soldiers was initiated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which supports the official government in Sanaa and promi

Clashes intensified on Friday between Shiite rebels and local fighters in the besieged city of Taiz, killing at least 45 fighters on both sides and six civilians over the past 24 hours. The city has seen heavy fighting between rebels known as Houthis and local resistance units financed and armed by the Saudi-led coalition that is backing Yemen's internationally recognized government. The local fighters have been advancing and have taken control of Taiz's western outskirts. The medical officials said Friday that most of the 45 killed over the past 24 hours died in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition. They also said that six civilians were killed in random shelling of residential areas. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. According to witnesses, Islamic militants who are fighting next to the local resistance have kidnapped a number of Houthi supporters and members of the ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh's party in

Throttling Turkey’s democracy, President Erdogan seized an opposition newspaper that dared reveal his clandestine arming of jihadists seeking to overthrow neighboring Syria, as Alon Ben-Meir explains. By Alon Ben-Meir Only a few months after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raided the offices of the Koza Ipek Media Group, the Turkish police assaulted early this month the offices of Feza Publications, which owns two newspapers (including Zaman) and two TV stations, without any warning. There is little else more injurious to any democracy than closing down news outlets and choking off freedom of speech. To take such an extreme measure based on concocted accusations that such media outlets are aiding terrorism and conspiring against the state is nothing short of scandalous, and shows his fear of public criticism despite his bravado. Turkish President Recep Erdogan. President Erdogan, however, seems completely dismissive of any potential repercussions, as he was emboldened by his pa

While loudly complaining about “Russian aggression,” the U.S. government escalates plans for encircling Russia in a modern “Great Game,” writes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall Two hundred years after the “ Great Game ” for domination of Central Asia began with the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813, Washington is maneuvering to increase its military presence on Russia’s underbelly, this time through a “counterterrorism partnership” with Tajikistan and its neighbors. Last month, the Pentagon announced plans for $50 million in new military aid to Central Asia — with a focus on Tajikistan — to “counter the Taliban, ISIL [an acronym for Islamic State], and other regionally-based terrorist groups, and to promote stability in the region.” The aid will also help the U.S. military get its feet in the door by enabling “interoperability and collaboration” with local partner armed forces. The program comes at a time when the United States and NATO are trying to counter Moscow by providing bill

By James Petras Mapping the emerging global economic, political and military configurations requires that we examine regions and countries along several dynamic policy axis: 1. Capitalist versus anti-capitalist 2. Neoliberal versus anti-neoliberal 3. Austerity versus anti-austerity 4. War command centers and war zones 5. Political change and socio-economic continuity 6. New Order and political decay Though many of these dimensions overlap, they also highlight the complexity and influence of local and national versus global power relations. We will first identify and classify the regimes and emerging movements, which fall into each of these categories, and then proceed to generalize about current ‘global’ trends and future perspectives based on approximations of the real correlation of forces. Capitalism versus Anti-Capitalism Capitalism is the only economic system throughout the world. However, it has and continues to experience periods of severe crisis, stagnation a