Navigating the Future: NATO-South Caucasus Partnership

20 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense

Tags

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caucasus, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Nagorno-Karabakh, Russia, South Caucasus

The breakaway republics of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh within the Caucasus region, after the South Ossetia war in August 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Valentina M. Gevorgyan, Atlantic Community, September 20, 2012

At the recent Chicago Summit, NATO made sure to prioritize partnerships on its agenda. The South Caucasus region is one that can greatly benefit from NATO partnership, especially where security and justice are concerned. NATO’s efforts in the region should aim at resolving frozen conflicts, including the Nagorno Karabagh conflict… (more) ow.ly/2shrzh

Experts on Caucasus-2012 drills: Russia warns Azerbaijan against war (panarmenian.net)
Russia’s Caucasus War Games (brucekanderson.com)
Nagorno-Karabakh: On The Knife’s Edge (azerbaijanfree.com)
Flashpoint Between Turkey and Iran – The Caucasus Corridor (intelloverwatch.com)
U.S. Army Command develops Caucasus-linked military scenarios (panarmenian.net)

CSTO Exercises Tiptoe Around Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict

20 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ 1 Comment

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Armenia, Caucasus, Central Asia, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Military exercise, Russia

Political Map of the Caucasus and Central Asia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Joshua Kucera, The Bug Pit (Eurasianet), September 20, 2012

The Collective Security Treaty Organization has wrapped up its annual military exercises, held this year in Armenia, with the group’s general secretary saying the group needs to create its own military forces, including air forces, in Central Asia. But at a time of heightened tensions in the Caucasus, the drills took a relatively low profile… (more) http://ow.ly/2sgQSy

Post-Soviet military alliance hold drills (upi.com)
Russian Defense Minister to visit Armenia (panarmenian.net)
Experts on Caucasus-2012 drills: Russia warns Azerbaijan against war (panarmenian.net)

Russian Military Starts Maneuvers Near Dushanbe

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Russia

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Military exercise, military training, Russia, Tajikistan

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, September 19, 2012

Russian troops have started tactical military exercises at Russia’s Lyaur military test field near the Tajik capital, Dushanbe… (more) ow.ly/1mww3d

Russian Military Delegation Discusses Future Of Tajik Bases (rferl.org)
Tajikistan Russia Reportedly Come To Agreement On 201st Russian Base In Dushanbe (therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com)
RFE/RL Reporters Detained During Protests in Dushanbe (rferl.org)
U.S. and Russia in a new standoff (phantomreport.com)

Russia’s Caucasus War Games

18 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Armenia, Caucasus, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Russians, Tajikistan

Administrative map of Caucasus in USSR, 1957-1991 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every time Russia comes to play war in the Caucasus, a sense of alert spreads in the neighborhood. And it does not help if the Russians are running around with guns for two separate war games at the same time… (more) ow.ly/1mvgzzBy Giorgi Lomsadze, Eurasianet, September 18, 2012

CSTO Stages Military Exercises In Armenia (rferl.org)
Iran Attack Could Spark Caucasus War And Economic Trouble! (socioecohistory.wordpress.com)
Defense Ministry: Armenia didn’t specify dates for CSTO maneuvers (panarmenian.net)

CSTO Joint Military Maneuvers Continue In Armenia

18 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in European News

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Armenia, Belarus, Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Collective Security Treaty Organization, CSTO, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Military exercise, Russia, Tajikistan

Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, September 17, 2012

Joint military exercises of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), involving about 2,000 troops from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, are under way at Armenia’s Marshal Baghramian training ground. The war games, which kicked off on September 15 and will run until September 19… (more) http://ow.ly/1mudY3

CSTO 2012 military drills in Armenia postponed (panarmenian.net)
And then there were five (thehindu.com)

Foreign Policy: Security and conflict in the Caucasus region

22 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense, Turkey

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Armenia, Azerbaijan, Best Defense, Caucasus, GAAT, Georgia, Mark Hertling, Middle East, Russia, Territorial dispute, Turkey, United States Army, US Army

U.S. Army Europe commander discusses current challenges and defense issues in the region with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense, Safar Abiyev (left). (Photo: Kelly Schloesser, U.S. Army Europe)

From Tom Rick’s blog The Best Defense, August 20, 2012:

By Lt. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, US Army, Best Defense guest columnist

The Caucasus — that historical causeway of conflict between Europe and the Middle East — remains a complicated tangle of security concerns. Ethnic tensions still affect long standing territorial disputes, internally displaced indigenous people align with or oppose powerful diasporas, and an increasing nouveau riche — an oil-fueled minority upper class — is growing in an area once known only for desperate poverty… (more) http://ow.ly/d8K0x

U.S. Army Command develops Caucasus-linked military scenarios (phantomreport.com)
Flashpoint Between Turkey and Iran – The Caucasus Corridor (intelloverwatch.com)
U.S. Army Europe Commander travels to Caucasus countries
(U.S. Army)

RFERL: Armenian Troops Flown To Germany For Training

22 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Balkans, Caucasus, European News, Foreign Policy, Military and Defense

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Armenia, Bulgaria, Germany, Kosovo, NATO, Romania, Russia, Ukraine

The commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, Lieutenant General Mark Hertling (R), inspects Armenian peacekeeping troops in Yerevan, 18Jul2012 (Photo: RFE/RL)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, August 15, 2012

More than 100 Armenian soldiers flew to Germany on Wednesday to take part in training and exercises organized by the U.S. military for nations involved in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said the 116 soldiers will train at a U.S. military base in Germany from August 16 through September 4 alongside U.S., Bulgarian, Romanian, Slovenian and Ukrainian troops… (more)

http://www.azatutyun.am/content/article/24678060.html

Armenian peacekeepers to participate in multinational maneuvers in Germany (panarmenian.net)
RFERL: Does Russia-Georgia-War Film Signal A Rift Between Putin And Medvedev? (brucekanderson.com)
Armenian peacekeepers leave for Kosovo (panarmenian.net)

RFERL: Does Russia-Georgia-War Film Signal A Rift Between Putin And Medvedev?

11 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Military and Defense, Russia

≈ 1 Comment

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2008 South Ossetia war, Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, Georgia, Russia, South Ossetia, Vladimir Putin, Yuri Baluyevsky

By Robert Coalson, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, August 10, 2012

Map of the South Ossetia war (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A slickly produced film featuring some leading Russian military figures who accuse then-President Dmitry Medvedev of indecisiveness on the eve of Russia’s brief August 2008 war with Georgia continues to produce shockwaves among the country’s political elite… (more) ow.ly/1lUEEx

Was Putin in charge during Georgia war? Medvedev begs to differ. (csmonitor.com)
Putin, Medvedev Ratings Slide as Rift Threatens to Split Tandem – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
Medvedev accused of flinching during Georgia war (thehindu.com)
Putin Says Russia Had Plans For Georgian ‘Aggression’ In Late 2006 (rferl.org)
Georgia and Russia mark anniversary of South Ossetia War (euronews.com)

U.S. Army’s Europe Commander Holds Talks With Saakashvili

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Caucasus, European News, Military and Defense

≈ 1 Comment

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Afghanistan, Georgia, Mark Hertling, Mikheil Saakashvili, Tbilisi, U.S. Army Europe, USAREUR

RFE/RL‘s Georgian Service, July 18, 2012

The commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, Mark Hertling, has met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi for talks on defense cooperation and Georgia’s role in Afghanistan. (more) ow.ly/1lseKB

U.S. Army Europe Commander Lt. Gen. Mark P. Hertling meets with Georgian President to further security cooperation initiatives. (U.S. Army photo)

U.S. Army’s Europe Commander Holds Talks With Saakashvili (rferl.org)
Saakashvili’s solemn promise (electionswatch.org)
Mrs. Clinton Goes to Georgia (nationalinterest.org)
Georgia Has Real Chance To Join NATO In 2014, Says Saakashvili (eurasiareview.com)
Russia Foreign Ministry Reacts To Saakashvili’s Georgia ISAF Contribution Remarks (eurasiareview.com)
Georgian president details nation’s transformation (princeton.edu)

The Diplomat: A Plea for Smart, Forward U.S. Military Engagement

15 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by Bruce K. Anderson in Foreign Policy, Military and Defense

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Janine Davidson, Michèle Flournoy, Military, United States, United States Armed Forces, United States Army

Military expenditure as percent of GDP, data taken from the CIA factbook. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Michèle Flournoy and Janine Davidson, The Diplomat, July 10, 2012

The recent global economic downturn has generated doubts about American resilience and our ability to lead in the world. Far from being a nation in decline, however, the United States’ global standing remains unmatched and the imperative for it to lead in today’s tumultuous environment is clear. Those who assume that in order to recover economically the United States must close its overseas bases and bring its military forces home misunderstand the role the U.S. military plays in promoting global prosperity. The United States has benefited enormously from a highly interdependent and globalized economy – one that has relied on the security and stability underwritten by our armed forces and our alliances for over 70 years. In this context, we simply cannot divorce “American” interests from “global” interests or otherwise opt out of the system economically or militarily. (more) http://ow.ly/cfuCz

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