M Barbu – Page 704 – reflectiigeopolitice.ro

The Weaponization Of Economics (Part II)

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

Slippery slope

However, interesting as those experiments and observations might be, they are still the result of specific parameters within a particular setting and an environment that doesn’t resemble real life. Serious and honest behavioral economists both understand and freely admit this. Just because there was one experiment in which 12 university students chose to receive 1 chocolate today rather than 2 tomorrow, one cannot extrapolate from it that the entire country needs a public pension system and a central authority to oversee it, since all citizens are clearly incapable of saving.

The Russian Navy In The Russia-Ukraine War Scare – Analysis

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

Shortly after the conclusion of the Russian-Belarusian strategic Zapad-2021 exercise, open-source analysts, corroborated by U.S. intelligence findings, began reporting a new build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border. Though most tracking concentrates on the movement of Russian Ground Forces equipment, the Russian Navy has also been moving, albeit at a smaller scale.

Pakistani Taliban Allegedly ‘Training’ Baloch Militants in Terrorist Camps Along Afghanistan Border

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa paid a visit to Balochistan province on Tuesday, days after two deadly terrorist strikes at different military bases killed nine soldiers. The terrorist raids on 2 February have been claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).

Iraq—and the West—Haven’t Finished the Job of Defeating ISIS

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

The Islamic State, or ISIS, made global headlines recently on account of two significant developments in Syria: a prison uprising in Hasakeh in late January and the raid by U.S. special operations forces a week later, on Feb. 3, that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.

To Change Putin’s Behavior, the West Needs a New Strategy

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

Although the response in Western capitals to Russia’s aggressive military posturing on its border with Ukraine has been couched in clear diplomacy-first terms, military contingency planning has stepped up a notch in recent weeks. The intent of these moves, at least judging from the rhetoric of U.S. and NATO leaders as well as respected commentators, is to strengthen deterrence.

Belgian anti-terror police make 13 arrests in Antwerp

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

Belgian police arrested 13 suspected members of an Islamist terror group in an operation in Antwerp on Tuesday.

The suspects were detained for spreading jihadist propaganda on social media, though police said it was unclear whether they had made concrete plans to launch an attack. Around 100 police officers were deployed at 13 different addresses during the raid.

US Centcom nominee urges ‘pragmatic’ co-operation with Taliban in anti-ISIS fight

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

Lt Gen Erik Kurilla, the nominee to head Centcom, floated the prospect of co-operation as ISIS step up attacks in Afghanistan

President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia is floating the possibility of co-operating with the Taliban in certain instances to take out ISIS targets in Afghanistan.

Lt Gen Erik Kurilla — who is the Biden administration’s pick to head US Central Command, or Centcom — raised the idea during his nomination hearing before the Senate on Tuesday.

Iraq keeps wary eye on prison security after Islamic State jailbreak in Syria

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

The dire effects of massive jailbreaks a decade prior and the thousands of Islamic State convicts and suspects in Iraqi detention have induced greater attention to facilities in the country following an attack across the border.

Would Russians Embrace War?

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

In a January 28 interview with the Russian media about the Ukraine crisis, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said, “if it depends on the Russian Federation, there will not be a war.” He also suggested that there were “kernels of rationality” in the formal responses to Russia’s demands that the United States and NATO had delivered a few days earlier. To some Western commentators, Lavrov’s comments were a hopeful sign that the Kremlin had achieved its intermediate aims and might be shifting course. According to this analysis, Russian President Vladimir Putin had the West exactly where he wanted it: by moving more than a hundred thousand troops to the Ukrainian border and issuing an ultimatum, he had forced the United States and NATO to enter into a dialogue with Moscow. All along, then, the Russian government had been acting with calculated brinkmanship, pursuing an approach that has left the United States and its NATO allies with few choices other than to negotiate on an equal footing.

US troops could help evacuate American citizens in Ukraine should Russia invade, Pentagon says

February 10, 2022 by M Barbu

U.S. troops could be used to help evacuate American citizens from Ukraine should Russia invade the country, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday.

Kirby’s comments came as roughly 850 troops with the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, N.C., arrived in Poland in response to more than 100,000 Russian troops amassed on Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders. Another 850 troops with 82nd Airborne are expected to join them in the coming days.