Chad says it foiled attempt by military to ‘destabilize’ country

Chadian security agencies have foiled a plot by a group of army officers to “destabilize” the country and undermine constitutional order, the government said in a statement on Thursday.

A “restricted group of conspirators” comprising 11 officers led by the head of the Chadian Organization of Human Rights, Baradine Berdei Targuio, were behind the alleged plot, the statement asserted.

Will Pakistan Strike Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan?

As Islamabad increasingly voices concern about the alleged sheltering of a Pakistani insurgent group in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, there is speculation whether the Pakistani military might strike targets in the neighboring country and how that would impact the region’s fragile security.

More Than $3 Billion in Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the Biden Administration’s commitment of $3.075 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine. This includes the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $2.85 billion to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs, as well as the Department of State’s announcement of $225 million in Foreign Military Financing to contribute to the long-term capacity and modernization of Ukraine’s military.

TRENDS IN TERRORISM: WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON IN 2023

The most defining feature of international terrorism in 2023 will be its diversity, reflected by the broad array of ideologies and grievances motivating plots and attacks.

The challenge of dealing with “everyday extremists” remains, as lone actors influenced by accelerationism and other forms of violent extremism radicalize online and seek to conduct real-world acts of politically and ideologically motivated violence.

Эксперты: «Группу Вагнера» нужно признать международными террористами

Джейсон Блазакис и Тур Буккволл – о наемниках Евгения Пригожина как передовом отряде Кремля в его агрессии против Украины

29 декабря Центр по исследованию коррупции и организованной преступности (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, OCCRP) объявил «персоной года» (то есть, антигероем по версии этой организации) Евгения Пригожина – человека, прозванного «поваром Кремля» и стоящего за множеством темных дел в интересах своего главного клиента, президента России Владимира Путина.

Violence and Humanitarian Situation in Syria Worsening

Russia’s faltering war effort in Ukraine has caused regional powers to exploit this and try to expand their influence in Syria, threatening to worsen humanitarian conditions there.

Moscow has stepped up diplomacy to normalize relations with the Assad regime and reintegrate Syria into the broader Middle East region, in part by opposing an extension of the United Nations cross-border humanitarian aid program for the Syrian people.

Disinformation Trends on the Horizon in 2023

Disinformation will continue to evolve in 2023 with several trends worth highlighting, including: Sino-Russian alignment, more state actors seeking to acquire sophisticated disinformation capabilities, and the harnessing of emerging technologies for information manipulation purposes.

Decoding Israeli ‘Extremism’

“These are the basic lines of the national government headed by me: The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlement in all parts of the Land of Israel – in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan, Judea and Samaria.”

– Benjamin Netanyahu, December 30, 2023

Towards an Anthropology of Surveillance

With the rapid growth of metadata and political and corporate surveillance in America during the last two decades, anthropologists Roberto J. González and David H. Price—long-time contributors to CounterPunch—have been studying the impacts and implications of these developments. Both Price and González recently published books that critically examine surveillance in the United States (Price’s The American Surveillance State: How the U.S. Spies on Dissent and González’s War Virtually: The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, and Predict the Future). Below are excerpts from an extended conversation between the two on the cultural, military, and political dimensions of surveillance, technology, culture, and power.

The New Cold War Could Be Worse

More than one-third of the U.S. population was born after 1970, and thus has no personal memories of the Cold War, particularly the Berlin crises or the Cuban missile crisis. Since we are in the early stages of a new Cold War, it’s a good time to review the tensions that we will confront. Spoiler alert: Cold War 2.0 will be more costly and risky than its predecessor.