ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Reuters/Gleb Garanich / Reuters Written by  The Saker ; Originally appeared at  The Unz Review The latest big news out of the Ukraine Have you heard what the latest big news out of the Ukraine is? No? There is a mini-Maidan under way and Ukrainian nationalists seem to hope that Poroshenko will be kicked out before the end of the week. You did not know? Well, that is the real big news, the fact that you did not hear about this. Truthfully, what is going on is kind of interesting. Let me sum it up: the former President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili (who was stripped from his Georgian citizenship and of his Ukrainian citizenship) recently crossed the border (through Poland, of course) and proceeded to travel to Kiev to demand Poroshenko’s resignation. You think that I am kidding? Check t he Wikipedia article about him , it has all the details. It gets better. There is a consensus amongst analysts that Saakashvili is being used as a battering ram by somebody far more influenti

The Hezbollah (“Party of God”) movement was formed in 1982 in Lebanon by a segment of the Shia community displeased with the secular, in their view, nature of the Amal moderate Shia party. There were also disagreements concerning whether Israel should be confronted using new organizational forms and methods of warfare. According to its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, since its formation, Hezbollah was a purely intra-Lebanese creation, relying on the support and aid from the Palestinian and Lebanese parties, while the support from Iran and Syria came later. Since the very beginning, Hezbollah’s activities have been based on three principles. First, Islam is declared an ideological, doctrinal, and practical basis for the organization’s functions. Secondly, its main aim is the struggle against Israeli occupation of Lebanon and Palestine and against Zionist domination. Third, it recognizes the Iranian Shia thesis concerning the necessity of Vilayat-e-Fakih. This Shia doctrine assert

On October 26, the US-based Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and its Brazilian partner Embraer Defense and Security announced in a press release that the US purchased 6 additional A-29 warplanes for the “Afghanistan Program”. The A-29 is a light warplane that’s used by the Afghan Air Force as a Counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft. The warplane is also used in aerial reconnaissance mission, and for training Afghan Air Force pilots. The total Number of A-29 warplanes that have been bought by the US for the Afghanistan Program is now 26. However, only 12 are currently in service with the Afghan Air Force. Afghanistan received the last batch of four A-29s at the end of March. Meanwhile another seven warplanes are stationed at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, US for pilot training. The warplanes will be handed over to the Afghan Air Force in the upcoming months, according to Afghan officials. “We believe this decision demonstrates that the A-29 Super Tucano is the best aircraft for

A combination photo of U.S. Army Special Forces Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson (L to R), U.S. Special Forces Sgt. Bryan Black, U.S. Special Forces Sgt. Dustin Wright and U.S. Special Forces Sgt. La David Johnson killed in Niger, West Africa, Oct. 4, 2017, in these handout photos released October 18, 2017. Four members of the US Special Operations Forces were killed in southwest Niger near the Mali-Niger border when a joint US-Nigerien patrol was attacked on October 3. Pentagon officials have blamed the attack on what they described as self-radicalized, ISIS-affiliated militants.  According  to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Joseph Dunford, the US soldiers were accompanying the local military forces and did not expect to meet heavy resistance. They have called in the air support about an hour after the firefight begun. French Mirage jets arrived on the scene approximately one hour later. Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson and Staff Sgt.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has responded to the recent media allegations circulating over the US-sponsored UNSC “draft resolution over the mandate of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism into the use of chemical weapons in Syria.” Statement by the Foreign Ministry on the UN Security Council vote on the resolution to extend the JIM’s mandate ( source ): On October 24, 2017, the UN Security Council voted on the US-sponsored draft resolution calling for a hasty extension of the mandate of the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) into the use of chemical weapons in Syria even before the release of a report on its activities this year. Russia voted against it for reasons that we have explained repeatedly in public statements and in working contacts with other UN Security Council members. The main reason is that it makes no sense to adopt such important decisions without even assessing the JIM’s performance. Without such an assessment, it is impossible to determine wheth

Click to see the full-size image On October 25, several Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups agreed to join the so-called National Army under command of the Turkish-backed Syrian Interim Government, according to Turkish sources. The agreement was reportedly reached during a meeting between Turkish officials, representatives of the Syrian Interim Government and the FSA in the Turkish city of Kilis. Click to see the full-size image For now, only the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad Division and al-Shamiyah Front agreed to join the National Army, according to Syrian opposition sources. According to the agreement, the two groups will hand over all their weapons, ammunition and vehicles to the command of the National Army. The new Turkish-backed National Army should see the light after 2 months if the agreement is taken seriously. However, previously many FSA groups have made dozens of attempts to establish a joint army with no success what so ever. Turkey is likely planning to use

On October 25,  Hamid Saifi, an officer of the Afghan Army, announced that Afghan forces captured Tapa-e-Muhibullah and Se Rahi Mohammad Alam areas in Dasht-e-Archi district of Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan, according to the Afghan Tolo news TV channel. “We retook the Se Rahi Mohammad Alam and Tapa-e-Mohibullah areas. We call on government and aid organizations to help those civilians who are living in poverty and are living in areas between the two sides. They need emergency aid,” Saifi told Tolo. According to Saifi, Tapa-e-Muhibullah and Se Rahi Mohammad Alam areas had been a strongholds of the Taliban for the last two years. Saifi also said that civilians are slowly coming back to the two areas after the battle there ended. Also in northern Afghanistan, Tolo claimed that two ISIS fighters attacked a position of the Taliban in in Chaqma Chaqor village in Qoshtepa district in Jowzjan province. Qoshtepa district governor Aminullah said that Taliban fighters were k

Egyptain security forces have killed 6 terrorists in Notrh Sinai and seized their weapons, an Egyptian Army spokesman reported on October 23. The Egyptian Army and security forces are conducting a series of security operations against ISIS-linked militants operating in North Sinai in order to strengthen security in the border area with Gaza Strip. Government forces intensified operations in the area earlier this week after  militants kidnapped three Palestine workers on the Palestinian side of the buffer zone and took them to North Sinai. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image