April, 2023

• 23 April

  Postimperial Empire

  

  How the War in Ukraine Is Transforming Europe History loves unintended consequences. The latest example is particularly ironic: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to restore the Russian empire by recolonizing Ukraine has opened the door to a postimperial Europe. A Europe, that is, that no longer has any empires dominated …

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• 23 April

  Specter of prolonged conflict haunts Sudan, as warring generals dig in

  

  In an excerpt from this week’s Security Briefing newsletter, Pentagon correspondent Jared Szuba looks at the deteriorating situation in Sudan, as the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces militia and the Sudanese Armed Forces shows no signs of slowing. Four years after they joined hands to overthrow the decades-long rule …

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• 23 April

  Israel’s defense chief warns of multi-front war, says Iran ‘driving force’

  

  According to the Israeli Defense Ministry’s data, Hezbollah received $700 million from Iran last year as well as “knowledge and strategic weaponry” such as precision-guided munitions. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned on Thursday that the IDF must prepare for a multi-front war in which Israel faces many serious security threats …

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• 23 April

  Iran hard-liners lash out at shah Pahlavi’s son over Israel visit

  

  Reza Pahlavi’s trip to Israel and his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be part of his campaign to garner support for regime change in Iran, as the opposition camps were scrambling for unity. A visit to Israel this week by Iran’s last crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has …

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• 23 April

  Syria’s Kurds make their own pitch as Arab states court Assad

  

  Syrian Kurds, whom Bashar al-Assad once labeled “traitors” and “collaborators,” now seek a new peace with the Syrian government. As Arab governments and Turkey seek to mend fences with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the country’s Kurds have unveiled a new initiative to make peace with Damascus, saying that Western governments …

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• 23 April

  Israel’s security chiefs split on supporting Sudan’s Burhan, Hemedti

  

  Israel is engaged in efforts to de-escalate tensions in Sudan, but its security and diplomatic leaderships are split between the two fighting camps. The director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Ronen Levy, confirmed Thursday that Jerusalem is involved in international efforts to de-escalate the current conflict in Sudan and is …

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• 23 April

  Afghanistan Counterinsurgency: The RIP/TOA Blues – OpEd

  

  United States Counterinsurgency Operations (COIN) in Afghanistan and Iraq were significantly hampered by the haphazard manner in which the United States military deploys units to combat zones. Replacement in Place/Transfer of Authority (RIP/TOA) is the process of the outgoing military unit in a respective Area of Operations (AO) transferring the …

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• 23 April

  Whither Multipolarity in a Changing World Order

  

  The Italian political theorist Antonio Gramsci presciently observed: “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” This period that we live in is arguably shaped by three elements: two moribund …

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• 23 April

  U.S. Dollar Losing Reserve Status At Stunning Pace, Says Eurizon CEO

  

  Western sanctions against Russia have accelerated the move away from the U.S. dollar worldwide, Stephen Jen, the CEO of London-based asset management company Eurizon, warned on Tuesday. The dollar’s share in global reserves fell ten times faster last year than over the past two decades, Jen said, as cited by …

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• 23 April

  The Greenback’s Reign Is Secure For Now – Analysis

  

  Recent US Dollar weakening against other developed market and emerging market currencies coupled with announced plan of BRICS economies to create a new global currency have fueled concerns about the decline of the greenback as the pre-eminent global currency. All the while there are ominous signs of the weakening of …

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