Carnegie Moscow Center
The Russian government may be changing its attitude towards Syria and penalizing the Assad regime for failing to heed Moscow's advice.
The fact that the Red Cross has appealed to Putin for authorization to provide humanitarian relief to Syria proves that Russia has become an indispensable player in dealing with the Assad regime.
Reports that NATO troops burned copies of the Koran in Afghanistan help boost the Taliban’s recruitment efforts and can be used to support the Taliban’s attempts to portray conflict in Afghanistan as religious rather than political.
Russia lacks the resources for dealing with the situation in Syria and, despite its current support of the Bashar al-Assad government, will likely lose influence in the country regardless of the future political situation.
The Pakistani military leadership is likely looking to ensure that its voice is heard in the governing of the country, not to take full control of Pakistan.
While Iran has the right to develop nuclear energy, the international community has reason to worry that Iran’s nuclear program is developing technologies that would enable Tehran to build nuclear weapons.
The chilling of the Arab Spring, Iran's nuclear program, Iraq after the U.S withdrawal, and the continuing European financial crisis are just some of the key issues facing the international community in 2012.
Moscow does not believe that withdrawing the support from the Syrian government and giving this support to the opposition will resolve the conflict in the country.
Greater understanding and cooperation with China is crucial to Russia’s future as a Euro-Pacific nation-state.
The situation in Syria is unlikely to improve in the near future. It is increasingly likely that the violent domestic unrest can only be resolved through a regime change.