January, 2022

• 16 January

  Russia’s ‘Return’ to Africa Is Less Than the Sum of Its Parts

  

  Over the past several years, international policymakers, primarily in the West, as well as journalists and commentators have frequently called attention to Russia’s renewed interest in expanding its footprint in Africa. These discussions of “Russia’s return” to Africa are usually couched in a fearmongering, manichean framework of competition, ostensibly within …

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• 16 January

  Afghanistan Can Be an Opening for U.S. Diplomacy With Russia

  

  On Feb. 15, 1989, Col. Gen. Boris Gromov became the last Soviet commander to leave Afghanistan, crossing the Friendship Bridge into what was then the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Gromov’s departure ended the USSR’s decade-long military occupation of Afghanistan, characterized by some as the country’s version of the Vietnam War. …

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• 16 January

  The Myths and Realities of European Security in a Post-INF World

  

  On Feb. 2, the United States formally declared its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, treaty. The official declaration, which had been signaled by the Trump administration well in advance, set the clock ticking: Unless Russia unexpectedly returns to full and verifiable compliance with the treaty …

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• 16 January

  NATO Is Focusing on the Wrong Russian Threat in Eastern Europe

  

  As NATO has focused its attention on Russia’s offensive military capabilities in Eastern Europe, an equally significant and, in practice, more problematic issue has been largely ignored: Russia’s preponderance of “anti-access, area-denial” capabilities in the borderlands between the Baltic and Black Seas. Is NATO focusing on the wrong Russian threat …

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• 16 January

  Suspected suicide bombers strike in northwest Syria near Turkish border

  At least three people were killed on Thursday in a series of explosions including two suspected suicide bombings in northwest Syria near the Turkish border, witnesses said, in the first such attacks this year. A rescue worker said one civilian was killed after an improvised explosive device went off in …

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• 16 January

  As the U.S. Disengages, Russia Ramps Up Aid and Arms Sales to Sub-Saharan Africa

  

  In early March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov embarked on a five-country tour of sub-Saharan Africa. During his trip, Lavrov signed new trade agreements with Russia’s two long-standing partners in southern Africa, Angola and Mozambique. He also strengthened Moscow’s diplomatic ties to Zimbabwe’s new government and highlighted the role Russia …

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• 16 January

  How a Huge New Gas Pipeline Boosts Russia’s Strategic Entente With China

  

  Natural gas started flowing from Russia to China for the first time on Dec. 2 when Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, officially launched the initial phase of a huge new pipeline known as the Power of Siberia. Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, claims it is expected …

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• 16 January

  Rockets Possibly Fired by Pro-Iran Assailants Target U.S. Embassy in Iraq

  Four rockets were fired at the fortified compound that houses the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and suspicion fell on pro-Iran militias. Four rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday night, the latest in a series of aerial attacks amid Iranian threats and political violence as Iraq’s factions struggle …

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• 16 January

  Putin Wants to Rewrite the End of the Cold War

  

  When the Soviet Union collapsed three decades ago, the European security architecture suddenly became uncertain, its future put in play. After all, much of the postwar balance of power in Europe—and the world—had rested on the icy pillars of the Cold War, pillars that in 1991 abruptly melted. It didn’t …

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• 16 January

  Republican Bill To Impose Sanctions On Nord Stream 2 Businesses Fails In U.S. Senate

  Democrats in the U.S. Senate have defeated a bill that would have slapped sanctions on businesses involved in the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas), needed at least 60 votes to pass. It was defeated by a vote of 55-44 on January …

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