ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Illustrative image On Friday, ISIS fighters withdrew from the strategic Omar oil fields in the southeastern Deir Ezzor countryside after planting dozens of IEDs and mines inside them, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported. The report added that ISIS withdrew after  the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) captured Dhiban village west of the Omar oil field . The SOHR also said that Russian airstrikes on ISIS positions inside the oil fields played a key role in the ISIS decision to withdrew from them. Moreover, some Syrian pro-government activists reported that the SAA already captured the oil fields. However, these claims are not confirmed yet. Meanwhile, Syrian opposition sources claimed that the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are also advancing towards the Omar oil fields. According to the sources, the SDF is now in only 8km from the oil fields. Due to the large size of the oil fields, the SDF might capture a part of it, even if the SAA captures the main ...

As it was previously  reported , North Korea is currently building a new submarine that would be its first operational ballistic missile sub. Designated by US intelligence as Sinpo-C, the submarine is estimated to carry at least one and perhaps two or more submarine-launched ballistic missiles. This information corresponds with the satellite  photos  showing submarine activity that emerged back in August. North Korea currently has one ballistic missile submarine, the Gorae (“Whale”), designated as Sinpo-B by US intelligence, which appears to be a test vessel, as there is no evidence that it has ever left North Korean waters. The pictures reportedly showed tarps and netting installed above the SINPO-class submarine to “obscure any activity taking place beneath them.” SOURCE: DigitalGlobe/38 North via Getty Images It looks that Pyongyang was accelerating the development of the sea-based leg of its nuclear forces made by the 38 North, an outlet devoted to infor...

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. FILE IMAGE: Reuters Brazil plans to reopen its embassy and restore full diplomatic relations with Syria in the hope of participating in the war-torn country’s reconstruction, according to  Bloomberg . Brazilian President Michel Temer had instructed foreign minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira to carry out a feasibility study. Preliminary feedback from intelligence and defense officials is positive, he said, and a decision will be taken in the next few days. Brazilian foreign minister said “Our wish is to fully reactivate the Embassy and send a resident ambassador to Damascus.” In his assessment of why Brazil should expand its diplomatic presence in Syria, Nunes Ferreira said the country was a “hot spot of world politics” and home to an estimated 1,500-strong Brazilian community. When the war ends, Brazilian companies could participate in the reconstruction, he added. Brazil is also home to a significant community of Syrian and Lebanese origin...

On October 20, a suicide attack hit the Shiite Zaman Mosque in Dasht-e-Barchi area of the Afghan capital, Kabul city, according to Afghan sources. The Afghanistan Ministry of Interior Affairs confirmed in an official statement that 39 civilians were killed, and 45 others were injured in the attack. The Afghan Tolo news TV channel reported that ISIS announced that it was behind the attack on Zaman Mosque. However, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq didn’t say that ISIS claimed responsibility for it. Meanwhile in the central province of Ghor, another suicide bomber targeted a Sunni Mosque in Daleema district, according to Afghan sources. Mohammad Iqbal Nezami, a spokesman for Ghor province police, said that 33 civilians were killed in the suicide attack. Nezami also said that the suicide bomber was targeting a local commander from the anti-Taliban Jamiat party. The Taliban did not claim responsibility for the suicide attack on the Ghor mosque yet. However Afghan...

A special ‘thank you!’ to my Director of Research, Scott, for providing me with the background info for this article Everything we were told about the Soviet Union turned out to be a lie,  but everything we were told about the West turned out to be true Russian joke In May of 2016 I wrote an article for the Unz Review entitled “ Counter-Propaganda, Russian Style ” in which I tried to show the immense difference between the old, Soviet, approach to propaganda and counter-propaganda and the approach taken by the Russian authorities today. The main difference was this: if the Soviet went out of their way to prevent western propaganda from reaching the Soviet people, the Russians are nowadays doing the exact opposite: they are going out of their way to make sure that western propaganda is immediately translated and beamed into every single Russian household. What I propose to do today is to share with you a few recent examples of what Russian households are regularly exposed to. ...

Psychological Operations  or  PSYOP  are planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of organizations, groups, and individuals. The beginning of interest in post-Cold War information operations can be traced to the UN intervention in Somalia and the Rwanda Genocide. Relatively honest and direct reporting from these war zones meant that the public opinion of Western countries was a factor that had to be considered by the political classes. Hence the  complaining at the time about the so-called “CNN Effect” which forced the politicians to send and/or withdraw troops irrespective of what the elites actually wanted to happen at the time. The early methods of influencing the public opinion by manipulating the media, though reasonably effective, were not enough. We have seen their strengths and limitations during both wars against Iraq, in which the...

FILE IMAGE On October 18, the Lebanese State Security announced in an official statement that it has arrested four members of an ISIS cell in Hasbaya area in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese authorities said that the four ISIS members are Syrian citizens. According to the official statement, the head of the cell, Khalid M, confessed that he found “pro-ISIS groups on social media networks and published instructions and photos on how to make explosives belts, and mines”. Khaled also confessed that he announced in a record that he is willing to conduct a suicide attack, according to the statement. Moreover, the Lebanese authorities revealed that Khalid took photos of a UNIFIL helicopter that was taking off and landing in Marjayoun area in southern Lebanon. The statement added that the four ISIS members confessed that they planned to conduct terrorist attacks again a unspecified Lebanese party (likely Hezbollah), Casino du Liban and night clubs. Furthermore, the cell was regular...

Does North Korea really pose a military threat to anyone?  A comparison of the military assets of the two Koreas. Written by  Brian Kalman  exclusively for  SouthFront ;   Brian Kalman is a management professional in the marine transportation industry. He was an officer in the US Navy for eleven years. He currently resides and works in the Caribbean. Introduction As the very real threat of a military confrontation breaking out on the Korean Peninsula once again becomes probable, it is important to reassess the current military capabilities of both the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (North Korea). An analysis of the respective militaries will give a clearer picture of the probability of a conflict, and how such a conflict might unfold. A realistic assessment of the balance of power on the peninsula, as well as the forces that can be brought to bear by likely allies, will also provide insight into the mo...