Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to announce that he will not annex Crimea to Russia even if Sunday's referendum outcome will favor such action, Rachel Ehrenfeld says in Crimean Tatars, However, in seizing Crimea, Vladimir Putin may well have … [Read more...] about ACD Weekly Update, March 8 – 14
Middle East Conflicts
The Drone Mystique and Turkey
The recent positioning of US unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, at bases created in the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant and Afghanistan is a geopolitical event that demands greater consideration. That it does not receive more … [Read more...] about The Drone Mystique and Turkey
The Saudi Dilemma*
These are perilous times for the desert kingdom, which sees itself as the very center of Sunni Islam, which for Sunnis is the only true Islam. It is facing a highly complex and dangerous confluence of circumstances that would have seemed most … [Read more...] about The Saudi Dilemma*
ACD Weekly Briefing
Recent ACD Publications and Highlights: Muslims in Ukraine: A Small Problem Amid a Larger One, By J. Millard Burr While ousted President Viktor Yanukovich's press conference diverted the media's attention, Russians forces, allegedly took over two … [Read more...] about ACD Weekly Briefing
Review of John Judis’ “Genesis”*
Today, we deviate from our usual blog content to provide an important review of what has already become a notorious book. Given the current groundswell of anti-Israel sentiment in the U.S. (particularly on campuses), which is aided and abetted by … [Read more...] about Review of John Judis’ “Genesis”*
Are Mosques Recruiting Foreign Fighters for Syria?
At least 11,000 Sunni, and 10,500 Shiite foreign fighters from 74 countries (not including Iranian “advisors”) are reported to have joined the struggle over Syria. However, we know little about the recruiting mechanism that led them to Syria. Were … [Read more...] about Are Mosques Recruiting Foreign Fighters for Syria?
A World Ablaze – But Different Fuels*
A bane of modern military studies (let’s eschew the term “science”) is the concept of counter-insurgency--the idea that indigenous revolts around the world can be analyzed with “the scientific method” and that a set of general principles, if … [Read more...] about A World Ablaze – But Different Fuels*
Israel and the New World Disorder*
Switzerland has about the same population as Israel with four distinct ethnicities and is in a similarly vulnerable geographic location. It has been continuously independent since 1291 except for a brief period of French occupation during the … [Read more...] about Israel and the New World Disorder*
Islam and the Other: The al-Wala’ wal-Bara’ Doctrine
Given the U.S. capitulation to Iran, the growing American and European pressure on Israel to relinquish its national security and identity as the Jewish state in favor of the Palestinians, while Syria has become the training "melting pot" for … [Read more...] about Islam and the Other: The al-Wala’ wal-Bara’ Doctrine
Could “Rabbit Fever” Become a Biological Weapon?
The Obama administration held a meeting today in Washington with the representatives of more than two dozen countries on how to confront "a perfect storm of converging threats from infectious disease epidemics.” For once, the current administration … [Read more...] about Could “Rabbit Fever” Become a Biological Weapon?