Carnegie Moscow Center
Last weekend, two districts of Moscow became a battlefield between the police and the people described as nationalists by mass media or as hooligans by the authorities. Moscow has been a place of pogroms many times, but this time the authorities were more efficient than in previous cases.
After 1998 nuclear tests, India and Pakistan experienced several crises, including the 1999, 2002, and 2008 events. They have already agreed on some confidence-building measures, though unverified. Do India and Pakistan need a more dangerous crisis to start arms control talks and negotiations on verification mechanisms?
There is still a window of opportunity for cooperation between the United States and Russia on conventional prompt global strike weapons.
Any Conventional Prompt Global Strike acquisition decision should be preceded by an in-depth and detailed debate about the costs, risks, and benefits of all potential CPGS alternatives. Their military utility is a natural starting point for such a debate.
Terrorism is hardly to be found in a traditional religious society, consisting of people who are brought up and educated there, who know this tradition, its texts and practices, and whose life is religiously integral rather than separated into religious and profane parts.
The Alliance is waiting now for the U.S.-Afghan agreement, which will give a political and legal base for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. The problem is that Hamid Karzai is not ready to sign this agreement.
Washington should endorse the Russian proposal and invest President Vladimir Putin’s prestige in winning Syria’s assent and full, timely implementation. Such an outcome would be better than military action and better than no action.
Investigation of chemical weapons use is in the interest of both the United States and Russia. Russia will continue to support Assad only if there is no evidence that he used chemical weapons.
It seems that Russia is not ready to face new and diverse threats and challenges in international security. Instead, it gives priority to preparations for war with the United States and NATO.
In 2013, the state of, and prospects for, U.S.-Russian cooperation in arms control and security look more dubious than at any point since the end of the Cold War. The main obstacle is unfavorable domestic political environments in both countries.