August, 2023

• 22 August

  U.S. intelligence says Ukraine will fail to meet offensive’s key goal

  

  Thwarted by minefields, Ukrainian forces won’t reach the southeastern city of Melitopol, a vital Russian transit hub, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Ukraine’s counteroffensive will fail to reach the key southeastern city of Melitopol, people familiar with the classified forecast told The Washington …

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• 22 August

  Can Russia and China Breathe New Life Into BRICS?

  

  The global south is hungry for an alternative to the Western-dominated order, but BRICS may not be up to the task. The next test of whether top U.S. adversaries can erode its role as the leading global superpower will come in the form of a major diplomatic confab in South …

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• 22 August

  Missile Diplomacy

  

  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known for many things, but subtlety isn’t one of them. To coincide with the launch of U.S.-South Korean joint military drills on Monday local time, North Korean state media released a photo of Kim observing the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles off the …

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• 22 August

  North Korea: Russia’s Staunch Ally – Analysis

  

  At the end of July, a Russian military delegation led by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, General Sergei Shoigu, visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. An official welcoming ceremony for the Russian delegation was held at the Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang with the participation of …

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• 22 August

  Is The US Dollar On Its Way Out? – Analysis

  

  The United States has been instrumental in leading the post-war global economic system which it helped create. Yet its economic weight has declined over time and strategic competitors in emerging markets are calling for change, including possible ‘decoupling’. Some suggest that the US dollar’s days as the central global currency …

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• 22 August

  Private Military Companies Continue To Expand In Africa – OpEd

  

  The recent coup in Niger threatens to unleash more private military and security companies on a continent where they have become steadily more powerful in recent decades. In the wake of the July 26 coup in Niger, the world’s spotlight has once again turned to the expansion of private military …

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• 22 August

  Democracy, diktats, and detention: Imran Khan gets cancelled

  

  Imran Khan’s transformation from prime minister to prisoner stands as a stark cautionary tale for global leaders who challenge the ‘rules-based international order.’ In a striking judicial development on 5 August, a court in Islamabad handed down a significant verdict against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The court found …

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• 22 August

  Iraq no longer needs foreign troops on its soil: PM

  

  The Iraqi prime minister’s comments come a day after security sources suggest planes carrying US military personnel arrived at Ain al-Asad base in Anbar Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stated that Iraq “no longer needs the presence of foreign combat forces on its soil,” in a meeting with several …

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• 22 August

  Jihadists vs Fatah: The Trojan Horse in Lebanon’s Palestinian camps

  

  The recent outbreak of violence in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp has sparked debate on security concerns, external machinations, Palestinian civil rights, and the fundamental question of the right to return. The deadly clashes that erupted in late July in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, a prominent Palestinian refugee settlement in …

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• 22 August

  Central Asia is the prime battlefield in the New Great Game

  

  So long as Russia and China remain the region’s dominant political and economic powers, the Central Asian heartland will remain a US and EU target for threats, bribes, and color revolutions. Samarkand, Uzbekistan – The historical Heartland – or Central Eurasia – already is, and will continue to be, the …

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