ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By  Zosimo Camacho  (translated from Spanish by  Daniel Edgar ) The sad spectacle of the presidential campaigns – with the grotesque squandering of resources, the lack of ideas amongst the presidential candidates and the absence of clear postures with regard to the real problems of the country – have saturated the agenda of the mass media, as is always the case. Certain topics, such as the Indigenous communities, tribes and nations of Mexico, are automatically vetoed by the majority of the mass media. None of the aspirants to the presidential palace have referred to the original peoples of Mexico with sincerity. Generally they are mentioned in the context of the theme: ‘vulnerable groups’. And they do so from a position that is paternalistic, injurious, authoritarian, insulting, and based on total ignorance. The Indigenous people don’t matter to them. They make superficial gestures and statements to try and hide their racism and contempt. The Indian communities in this country a

Image: russianplanes.net / Artem Anikeev Written by  Federico Pieraccini ; Originally appeared on  strategic-culture.org As recently confirmed in a  debate  at the Brookings Institute by the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, General Robert Neller, “there are military areas in which the United States maintains a technological advantage [over Russia and China], others in which there is substantial parity, and others in which the United States is lagging behind, revealing a technological gap with its peer competitors”. The last point applies to weapons systems designed to operate at hypersonic speed. Let us start with the simple and pragmatic definition offered by  The National Interest  of hypersonic vehicles and weapons: A hypersonic vehicle is one that moves through the atmosphere at a minimum speed of five times that of sound, or Mach 5. A hypersonic cruise missile travels continuously through the air employing a special high-powered engine. A hypersonic glide

Click to see the full-size map On May 12, the Libyan National Army (LNA) reinforced its positions around the city of Derna in northeastern Libya deploying an infantry battalion near the western entrance of the city and in the valley of Kirissah west of it, according to Africa Gate News. The news agency also reported that heavy clashes had erupted between the LNA and members of the Shura Council of Mujahedeen in Derna (SCMD) in the al-Helah area, south of Derna. Following these clashes, the LNA artillery targeted several positions of the SCMD inside Derna. The LNA, led by Marshal Khalifa Haftar, launched  a military operation to capture Derna  from the SCMD on May 7. Since then, the LNA has captured several positions from the radical group east and southeast of the city. According to observers, the deployment of more troops around Derna indicates that the LNA is preparing to launch its main ground attack on the SCMD positions inside the city soon.

Written by  Peter Korzun ; Originally appeared on  strategic-culture.org In January, Russia hosted the Congress of Syrian National Dialog in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. It has been the most representative forum thus far to discuss the conflict in Syria. Moscow invited Beijing to take part in the event as an observer. The Russian government believes that China is too important to be denied a role in the process of bringing peace to that war-torn country. Post-war Syria is a scene of devastation. The creation of de-escalation zones has worked well to establish a cease-fire and a pause to catch one’s breath before the work of reconstruction begins. The Western powers are very unlikely to help rebuild Syria as long as Assad’s government, which is backed by Russia and Iran, remains in power. Legislation that has been dubbed the “No Assistance for Assad Act”  has passed  the US House of Representatives and has been read twice in the Senate. The bill seeks to channel US aid exclusivel