The Way I See it

Robert Giroux / Getty Images / Via gettyimages.com The likelihood of a serious terrorist attack on the US or its assets abroad has significantly increased with the most recent political developments stateside. In particular, the ongoing controversy about the travel ban for nationals of several Muslim majority countries is an invitation to various predators to go into action. There are several potential terrorist candidates with a wide range of heritages. The most obvious ones

In the first part of this post, I argued that one of the more important back stories of the 2016 US elections was a Russian-​American effort to restore the sagging fortunes of their traditional energy businesses. This second part explains how this may actually happen. the first part of this post, I argued that one of the more important back stories of the 2016 US elections was a Russian-​American effort to restore the sagging fortunes of their traditional energy businesses. T

Much of the post-​election chatter in the United States has focused on the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, and Russia’s security services, their role in the US elections of 7 November and whether their intervention sought to favour the Republican candidate at the expense of his Democratic opponent. For me, this is a no-​brainer. Russia has involved itself in the electoral politics of a host of European Union countries in recent years. Why should Putin th

This second blog in a series of three looks at the ongoing efforts to put together a grand anti-terrorist coalition. January 2016 will see a major new phase in the efforts of the international community to reach a settlement in Syria. On 25 January, the 17-member International Syria Support Group (ISSG) will gather in Geneva armed with UN Security Council Resolution 2254, agreed just before the holiday break. This calls for Syrian unity and independence, a cease-fire, a negot

Putin’s objectives in Syria have as much or more to do with Russian concerns about developments in the former Soviet Union as with the situation in and around Syria. But the overall thrust of his Syrian campaign can have an impact well beyond that. First and foremost, Putin is trying to project power abroad in an effort to compensate for the fading effectiveness of the model of growth and governance that have been associated with his now fifteen years at and near the pinnacle