Japan to mark the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima while protected by US nuclear umbrella Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Japan will mark the 75-year anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. Like usual, an extremely solemn reminder of the brutality of war. However, many words relating to joining…
Afghanistan admits to 3,500 military deaths in 2020: Reverberations of Obama Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Afghanistan acknowledged that over 3,500 security forces have been killed since February peace talks. These talks resulted in a frayed peace agreement between America and the Taliban. However, on the ground, the…
America, Australia, and Japan in Naval Exercises in Asia Pacific waters Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The nations of Australia, Japan, and the United States are currently holding trilateral naval exercises in the waters of the Asia Pacific. Thus democratic nations are showing commitment toward the freedom of sea-lanes throughout the…
Moscow Develops Next-Generation Combat Infantry System Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Moscow plans to develop and introduce next-generation infantry combat systems (ICS) to further advance this high-technology feature of the modern and future Russian soldier. The current Ratnik (“Warrior”) ICS will be replaced, by 2025, with the new Sotnik (“Centurion”)…
Okinawa already burdened by U.S. military bases now fears Covid-19 crisis Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times It is known that approximately 100 infections of coronavirus (Covid-19) have hit several military bases of the United States (U.S.) in Okinawa. This will increase internal discontent in Okinawa because this part of Japan is…
Iran hit by many recent mysterious explosions: Israel, cyberwars, and shadows Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Iran is reeling this year from the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani on the orders of President Donald Trump of America – to Iran accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian civilian plane that killed 176 individuals.…
Russian Military Seeking to Counter Growing Chinese Role in Central Asia Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Paul Goble The Jamestown Foundation In March 2019, Dmitry Zhelobov, a specialist on China at Russia’s Urals Federal University, warned that Beijing was shifting from relying on soft power in Central Asia to using hard power. If Russia did…
India loses 20 soldiers in a border clash with belligerent China: Covid-19 convulsions Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times At least 20 soldiers from India have died after border clashes with China in an area claimed by both. It remains unknown how many soldiers from China were killed in violent clashes. Reuters…
Many soldiers killed in Mali after Sunni Islamists attack an armed convoy Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The ethnic and religious crisis in Mali is tearing the country apart. Only last week you had another ethnic massacre that killed many. This week it is a brutal Sunni Islamist insurgency responsible for…
Russian Navy Prioritizes Tsirkon Hypersonic Missiles Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Moscow’s political-military leadership places growing emphasis on long-range stand-off precision strike systems as a key element in its ongoing modernization program, complementing efforts to strengthen “pre-nuclear” deterrence and offering additional conventional capabilities. One emerging pattern is to equip Russia’s…
Mozambique army faces new attack by Sunni Islamists: Tanzania is concerned Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The armed forces of Mozambique continue to face fresh attacks by Sunni Islamists in northern parts of this nation. Recently, the government of Tanzania sent military reinforcements to border areas. However, the internal crisis is…
US intention in Syria is a quagmire for Russia: Cyprus, Turkey, and Islamists Noriko Watanabe and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The endless conflict in Syria is at a dreaded stalemate where America and Turkey seek an endless quagmire for Syria and the Russian Federation. For America, even if Sunni Islamists have cleansed Alawites,…
Russia’s Aerospace Forces Prepare Training for Kinzhal Hypersonic Missiles Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation Russia’s Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno Kosmicheskikh Sil—VKS) are preparing to create a MiG-31K regiment in the Siberian city of Kansk, in the Central Military District (MD), fully equipped with Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. The training of flight crews…
Tanzania sends the army to border areas with Mozambique: Sunni Islamist insurgency Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Tanzania is sending extra troops to the border area with Mozambique. This comes on the back of the growing Sunni Islamist insurgency in Northern Mozambique. Therefore, despite the border on the…
ISIS upsurge during Ramadan in Iraq: Political inertia, geopolitics, and coronavirus Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The period of Ramadan often witnesses a spike in Sunni Islamic terrorism and this year is no different. However, when it comes to ISIS (Islamic State – IS) then this is more worrisome because of…
Arms from Yemen will Fuel Conflict in the Horn of Africa Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Michael Horton The Jamestown Foundation Arms trafficking via the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea has a long history. However, the wars in Yemen and the vast number of arms and materiel provided by Saudi Arabia and the United…
Chad loses 92 soldiers after a major attack by Sunni Islamic terrorists Boutros Hussein and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Sunni Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram is known to have killed at least 92 soldiers in Chad. President Idriss Déby Itno of Chad will certainly be alarmed by the brutal attack by Boko…
Islamists in Mozambique take a key town in Cabo Delgado: Wagner, OAM, and Black Hawk Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Increasing Sunni Islamist attacks in northern Mozambique is creating mayhem in a nation already blighted by poverty. Hence, the news that an important town had fallen will have taken authorities by…
Potential for al-Qaeda-Islamic State Cooperation in Afghanistan Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Farhan Zahid The Jamestown Foundation Frequent speculation has recently been posited that Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda affiliates could eventually coalesce again, or at the least, begin cooperating at a more notable level than was seen at the height of the conflict in Syria.…
Putin and Erdoğan Scramble to Find Workable Idlib Ceasefire Formula Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, met for an emergency summit in Moscow on March 5, in a last-ditch attempt to defuse the confrontation in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.…
Many Turkish soldiers killed in Syria: Turkey is exacerbating the crisis Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times According to reports at least 33 Turkish soldiers have been killed in Syria. This is following on from recent tensions between both nations based on Turkey supporting various Takfiri Islamist groups. At the same time,…
Niger and France kill approximately 120 Islamist terrorists in the Muslim mosaic of Niger Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The armed forces of Niger in a joint military operation with France are claiming to have killed approximately 120 Sunni Islamic terrorists. This news will be widely welcomed in a nation that…
Counterinsurgency in the Sahel is at Risk of Unraveling Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: J. H. Elswood The Jamestown Foundation In recent weeks, international attention has focused on the consequences of heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions in the Middle East, and more recently, on an attempted jihadist attack on the streets of South London on February 2. Away…
The Inconsistencies of Russia’s Policy on Libya Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation During the 1970s and 1980s, the Libyan regime of Muammar Qaddafi was Moscow’s ally in the Cold War against the West, and consequently it acquired many billions of dollars’ worth of Soviet weapons. In more recent years, President…
Calls for U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Iraq Continue as al-Amiri Emerges as Leader of PMU Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 18 Issue: 1 By: Rafid Jaboori The Jamestown Foundation The crisis in relations between the United States and Iraq’s Shia-led government has deepened over the last few weeks and especially after the killing of Iran’s top…
Japan PM to visit Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates: US and Iran Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times In a sign that America and Iran are seeking to salvage something positive despite heightened tensions, the leader of Japan will go ahead with his regional visit to the Middle East.…
Japan seeks restraint from America and Iran before the planned Self Defense Force mission Sawako Utsumi and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan seeks restraint from America and Iran over the ongoing crisis between both nations. This rupture increased after America killed Qassem Soleimani, the Quds…
Lebanon blighted by internal issues but Hezbollah threatens to embroil the nation for Iran Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Enormous demonstrations have taken place in Lebanon because of mounting economic, political, and social problems. At the same time, political cronyism and the sectarian nature of politics is holding back the hope…
US airstrike takes out Qassem Soleimani of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Iraq Ramazan Khalidov and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times President Donald Trump permitted to take out General Qassem Soleimani based on the recent escalation in Iraq. Of course, for Trump, and others in his administration opposed to the actions of Iran, then…
North Korea leaves the US door open despite possible new nuclear tests: Japan is looking on Ri Kuk-Chol and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, is letting America know that unless genuine dialogue occurs, then new major military tests may take place. This relates to the possible resumption…
Arab League warns Turkey not to send terrorists to Libya: Sullying of NATO Nuray Lydia Oglu and Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times The Arab League (AL) is nervous about the ambitions of Turkey in escalating an already fragile Libya. This relates to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and his plan to enter…
Hizb ul-Ahrar: Pakistan’s Cross-border Taliban Problem Remains Critical Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Animesh Roul The Jamestown Foundation Following a notable lull in militant activity, Pakistan is now facing a unique militant escalation targeted against its security forces in the North Waziristan area and bordering regions. Despite the Taliban force largely being subdued following the concerted…
