THE ISLAMIC STATE—UNDERSTANDING AND COUNTERING ITS STRATEGY

Canberra, 22 September 2015 The Islamic State (IS) has been fighting the combined military might of the US-led coalition for over a year without having been contained or defeated as was promised by world leaders at the start of the war. The term ‘war’ is being used after due consideration, for what is going on […]

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THE WAR IN YEMEN: ANOTHER POWDER KEG BLOWS UP

Canberra, 4 April 2015 A ten-nation coalition led by Saudi Arabia that also comprises members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) launched airstrikes in Yemen on 25th March. The Saudi ambassador to the United States stated that the operation was aimed at preventing the radical Houthi movement from taking over Yemen. The airstrikes were conducted […]

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EGYPT – THE GENERALS ARE BACK!

Canberra, 1 February 2014 An al-Qaeda inspired group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Partisans of Jerusalem, has claimed responsibility for the assassination of General Mohamed Saed, an aide of the Egyptian Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. This group has carried a number of deadly attacks in Egypt since the military overthrew the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi last […]

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SYRIA—NO EASY SOLUTIONS

Canberra, 4 October 2013 In something just over a fortnight, Syria has been pushed to the background in the collective memory of the world; the re-entry of the UN chemical weapons analysts into the country only rating a mention in the evening news. Two indisputable factors can be gleamed from this. One: the international community—read […]

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THE ARAB SPRING – WHAT OF IT?

Canberra, 3 August 2012   In January 2011, the people of Tunisia overthrew the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who had ruled for 23 years with little care for the development of the state and even lesser care for the betterment of the population. By all accounts this was long overdue. The Tunisian […]

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