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The article identifies and seeks to abridge a gap in the literature consisting of the problem of relations between military expenditure and democracy, especially the consequences of the first for the second. It specifically investigates the consequences that military expenditure produces for democracy among contemporary Western and comparable societies such as OECD countries during 2006–2017. It first surveys the relevant pertinent literature about the relationship of military expenditure and militaristic processes with democracy and political, civil and individual liberties. Then it proposes a theoretical sociological framework for approaching the problem of military expenditure and democracy, focusing on the consequences of the first for the second variable. It develops this framework by formulating testable hypotheses regarding the nature of consequences that military expenditure has for democracy. Next, it specifies data and their sources, the method and variables that the study uses. It reports empirical findings such as descriptive and proximately causal (regression) results. It infers that these findings for the most part support the theory and hypotheses that large and increasing military expenditure has adverse consequence for liberal democracy in general, and in OECD countries in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Militaries have consistently struggled to integrate women into the profession of arms despite concerted, decades‐long attempts at reform. We argue that this patchy progress is due in part to a conceptualization of gender as "category", which has limited power to explain gendered inequalities. We propose that gender as process approaches must also be used to understand the current state of gender relations within militaries. A gender as process approach recognizes the dynamic, enduring, and complex set of gendered practices and systems that affect everyday interactions and social relations. Using this frame, militaries can develop an understanding of how these processes operate—particularly, as a form of resistance to gender equality in these "extremely gendered organizations"—and can develop improved strategies for change. We use the Australian Defence Force as our case study to illustrate how gender as category approaches dominate reform attempts and how the gender as process approach offers new insights on how to promote gender equality in the military. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia has been a powerful ally in Venezuela's complex crisis, having developed political, economic and cultural relations with the Venezuelan state by employing various foreign policy instruments such as mutual support in multilateral fora, foreign aid, loans, commodity trading, military support and cultural diplomacy. What explains this support, despite Venezuela's severe political and economic crisis? Different perspectives have contributed to discussions on shifts in Russian foreign policy towards Latin America since the end of the Cold War. However, studies subscribing to traditional international relations theories have occasionally focused on a single issue or dimension. Such a focus may be problematic when analysing the multifaceted portfolio applied to Russian foreign policy. Based on the Two‐Good Theory approach, its focus on change and maintenance of the status quo, and the concept of substitutability, this research paper elaborates on Russia's foreign policy strategy towards Venezuela to explain policy priorities by examining the alliance with the Venezuelan Maduro regime. Furthermore, the paper highlights the link between the tangible characteristics of energy security and arms sales and intangible aspects, such as cultural diplomacy, which are important explanatory factors of Russian support for Venezuela. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies China's political and military relations with Algeria, a North African middle power. It tries to do through Role Theory, which has been enriched by incorporating the notion of hedging. The National Role Conception provides a good framework, for it shows that the overlapping roles of Algeria and China have helped consolidate their ties. Both China and Algeria have expectations from one another; the article demonstrates that though each has fulfilled the other's expectations, China has not fully done so regarding the conflict in Western Sahara without however resulting in distrust or tensions between the two. On the contrary, in view of the reconfiguration taking place in the international system, as well as in the immediate environment, the article advances the proposition that Algeria, historically a staunch nonaligned nation, has recently hedged China to defend against mounting threats. Algeria hedges China as 'geopolitical insurance policy'. Furthermore, Algeria participated at the 14th BRICS Summit in June 2022; its eventual membership will consolidate Sino‐Algerian relations and will enable both countries to continue playing their self‐attributed roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains the Gulf diplomatic crisis and its repercussions by tracing its various stages. It also analyzes the inconsistency of US policy during the Trump administration toward this crisis and how this taught Qatar not to rely entirely on the United States to achieve security. These challenges pushed Qatar to diversify its international alliances and to create a rapprochement with countries in the region, such as Turkey, to achieve military security. Qatar's status as an energy provider to Asia and an alternative to Russian oil and gas, along with its soft power, also strengthened its strategic position. Eventually, the article explains, Qatar was able to strengthen its relationship with the United States once the Biden administration took power. The study concludes that Qatar has become a model for small countries in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How did domestic politics shape President Barack Obama's use of military force during his first term? This article expands and improves upon existing assessments by coupling insights from political science theory with novel evidence from original interviews with administration officials. It systematically analyzes Obama and his administration across three theoretically important dimensions: belief structure, the White House national security advisory apparatus, and decision making in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. It finds that, along each dimension, President Obama appears to display high political sensitivity. Findings shed new light on how the administration understood and weighed domestic political considerations and translated these into security policy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East African Community (EAC) is facing a financial crisis due to member states not remitting dues, resulting in stalled programs and unpaid salaries. The EACJ, the region's legal watchdog, has suspended sessions, and other organs and institutions have also halted activities due to lack of funds. The EAC has not confirmed the report. In addition, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is negotiating with Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, who have expressed their intention to leave the community. Talks are ongoing, but the Sahel nations have already formed a security alliance and plan to officially withdraw in January 2025. The newly-elected government of Senegal has called for the Sahelian countries to rejoin ECOWAS, but the Malian Foreign Minister rejected the proposal. [Extracted from the article]

This article describes Saudi Arabia's historic and arduous journey to national‐defense transformation, launched around 2015. It analyzes the challenges and opportunities of defense reform in the kingdom while highlighting the role of the United States in this process. Last, the article discusses the future of US‐Saudi defense relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, narcotics control has been unable to overhaul the durable and arguably self‐regulating socio‐economic networks driving heroin production and distribution in northern Myanmar, the second biggest drug production area in the world. To overcome this territorial barrier, the Chinese state introduced in 2000 an opium substitution programme that involved bringing Chinese agribusiness firms together with ex‐poppy farmers and local elites in northern Myanmar to form a formal cross‐border market. The programme raises a unique empirical puzzle: how could formal market building play a socially progressive role when it is superimposed in a border region underpinned by a well‐established informal, if also mostly illegal, market structure? This paper addresses this question through a reflexive Polanyian analytical framework that examines the "market" through its connections with non‐economic factors over time. It makes a distinct conceptual contribution by incorporating the border as a tangible anchor from which to assess how the processes of redistribution, reciprocity, and market exchange constitute the opium substitution programme as a social "countermovement." Findings indicate Yunnanese firms negotiate border politics to engage in exchange with ex‐poppy farmers, establish reciprocal relations with local military elites, and implement the redistributive strategies of the Chinese state. Despite some success, this formal market‐building process continues to experience barriers generated by the pre‐existing informal market structure across the border region. Whether market building could further impact on economic restructuring in this border region and fully remove opium production from the border economy therefore remains an open question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores alliance effectiveness with a particular focus on peacetime capability‐building activities. Questioning why an alliance succeeds in an effective capability‐building activity sometimes but not others, this article argues that the key to effectiveness rests on the civil‐military relations of the smaller ally. The military effectiveness of capability‐building activities increases if the preferences of civilian and military leaders of the smaller ally are converged. Furthermore, constructive civil‐military coordination positively impacts military effectiveness. This article tests these propositions with the FX‐III project, which is regarded as the largest fighter jet procurement project of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The military effectiveness of the project declined across two phases, which is attributable primarily to unproductive coordination between civilian and military leaders in phase two. This case study reveals that the impact of preference alignment does not influence military effectiveness as broadly as does civil‐military coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2022, General Stephen J. Townsend, commander of the B US b Africa Command, told Congress the US military was concerned about China opening a naval base on Africa's coast. B Is Beijing seeking to establish a naval base in the Gulf of Guinea? China is a major investor in infrastructure projects in Nigeria, including in the recently opened Lekki deep sea port near the economic capital Lagos, and Nigeria is one of China's top crude oil suppliers. [Extracted from the article]

This article offers explain the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) strategy towards regional energy supplies and why the PKK attacks energy infrastructure. It is mentioned that energy infrastructure can potentially endanger Turkey's position as a regional energy hub. The article discusses the increase in conflict between Ankara and the PKK and how it has affected the interrelationship with military security and politics.

Abstract: As a country largely free of the corruption that bedevils the defence procurement of many of Australia's Asian neighbours, it is generally assumed that Australia's national security interests, together with value for money, are the paramount criteria for Australia's defence procurement. This is an assumption, however, that deserves critical interrogation, particularly with respect to the influence that domestic politics can have on strategic decisions. This article investigates the Australian government's 2016 decision to acquire land‐based anti‐ship missiles. To do so, it adapts Putnam's two‐level game to a defence policy context, enabling the incorporation of both realist and domestic political factors, including the influence of interest groups. I find a plausible case that the influence of the resources sector and constituents of Australia's northwest, as well as the corporate interests of the Australian army in asserting a greater role in Australian defence strategy, may have been significant in the decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CAR minister of state in charge of disarmament, Jean Willybiro Sacko, said the former rebels' mission in the national army is to work towards securing the country. The CAR army and allies from the B Russian b Wagner Group are battling a growing insurgency in the north and east of the country amid threats by Coalition of Patriots for Change ( B CPC b ) rebels to march to the capital, Bangui. B Top Military Commander Sacked: b President B Faustin Touad b era has dismissed senior military commander Col B Ibrahim Yagbanga b for "serious breaches of his duties and responsibilities on the battlefield", pro-opposition I Corbeau News i reported on May 24th. [Extracted from the article]

How should we understand the role of the EU in the world - and its relational power vis-à-vis other international actors? And to what degree is the Russia-Ukraine crisis a critical juncture in EU power dynamics over time? This contribution to this Special Issue evaluates EU power through the lens of material power and capabilities, and analyzes patterns and changes in material capabilities as indicators of threat and strategic assessments. The findings demonstrate the Russia-Ukraine crisis as one critical juncture in the weight and means of EU military power/capabilities, representing a partial but significant shift away from the overall national tendencies of reducing military spending across Europe, and the decade-long trends of strategic goals towards mobilizing EU military power outside of Europe. It also marks a deepening of strategic divergences across the EU regarding national clusters of capability development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the great power statuses of the U.S. and China, including each country's relations with Asia. An overview of the economic conditions of East and Southeast Asia, including the decline of exports from East Asian country and the devaluation of currency in China, is provided. Military relations in Asia, including the U.S.'s military presence in the region, is discussed.

The article focuses on political and military commitment of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Hizbullah in Lebanon related to baptism of fire. Topics discussed include three way alliance between Iran, Hizbullah and Syria, external relations and geo-strategic calculations by Iran and views of researcher Avi Kober on combat missions of Israeli air force.

This article examines the changing role of Japan and its alliance with the United States by focusing on the new Guidelines for Japan-U.S. Defense Cooperation announced in April 2015. The article focuses particularly on the implications of the 2015 guidelines for a greater regional security role for Japan, including its potential cooperation with the United States and Australia. To do so, it first considers the meaning and roles encapsulated in the Defense Guidelines using two key concepts-'reassurance' and 'burden-sharing.' Second, the article discusses how the latest guidelines have increased the U.S. commitment to Japanese defense, while assigning Japan a greater security role in the region. Third, it examines the possibilities and challenges ahead for closer U.S.-Japan-Australia cooperation especially in the South China Sea, and concludes that achieving such a goal depends on how Japan can address its domestic and international issues, including the successful implementation of legal reforms in Japanese security policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The U.S.-South Korea military alliance has helped South Korea cope with key conditions that have threatened its sovereignty and national character. It has evolved into a security alliance that is mature, multidimensional, and comprehensive in terms of its main structure, operational scope, and mission. Domestic political conditions and public opinion in South Korea have been largely supportive of the bilateral security alliance. At the regional level, South Korea's anxiety regarding Japan's growing role in regional security matters has collided with its desire to transform the alliance to play a more effective role in the Asia-Pacific region. The progressive nature of the threat of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction has introduced global objectives into the U.S.-South Korea security alliance. Effectively coping with such 'hybrid' threats from North Korea will remain the key challenge for the U.S.-South Korea alliance in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author focuses on the relationship between the U.S. and Japan and how they can contain China by opening the Japanese markets. Topics include the role of former Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi in the postwar political order in the country, the needed cooperation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the success of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP), and the military support given by the U.S. to any confrontation of Japan with China.

The article discusses Japan's military policy, defense strategy and foreign relations under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, including the military relationship between U.S. and Japan and Abe's efforts to expand the role of Japan's Self-Defense Forces. The impact that China's foreign policy has on Abe's desire for Japan to assert more power in the region, including in regard to Abe's desire to balance China's regional hegemony, is discussed. An overview of international security cooperation between the U.S. and Japan is provided. Japan's exports of military technology are also discussed.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Australian-Malaysian relations reached a critical juncture due to a series of crises, such as the 1986 capital punishment of convicted drug smugglers Barlow and Chambers, and the 1993 'recalcitrant' jibe by Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating. Following the election of the Howard government in 1996, relations continued to be on a roller coaster with the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad leading anti-Australia protests over the 'Howard Doctrine,' the Australian leadership of the 1999 intervention in East Timor, and the 'Deputy Sheriff' controversy. Despite this, defense relations between the two remained strong. The success of this cooperation rests on shared political commitment to the security of the region. This article examines the impact that positive cooperation in 'high politics' has had in mitigating the negative aspects of crises in 'low politics.' It argues that close bilateral defense relations have worked to prevent the emergence of further critical junctures in 2012 following the collapse of the Australian-Malaysian refugee swap deal and statements by Australian politicians about Malaysia's poor treatment of asylum seekers, and in 2013 over the overt support by many Australian politicians of the opposition, especially Anwar Ibrahim, during the Malaysian general elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the June 2015 issue of the journal "Africa Research Bulletin".

The article discusses Russian military policy, strategy, military relations with nations and military readiness under Russian President Vladimir Putin from 2008 through 2015, including in regard to Russian defense spending, its relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia's imperialist foreign policy. An overview of the United States' relations with Russia, including in regard to Russia's nuclear weapons capability relative to U.S. missile defenses, is provided. An overview of Russia's involvement in the Separatist Conflict in Ukraine is also provided.

The article presents the February 2015 issue of the journal "Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series" by Virginia Baily and Veronica Hoskins. It focuses on topics such as internal developments, national security and military forces of the West African continents. In addition it also talks about the series of events occurred at countries like air strikes on Libya in Egypt, raging violence in Nigeria and post-election government of Tunisia.

This issue focuses on several political, social and cultural incidents in the African continent. Topics include military campaign and political power struggles in Somalia, presidential elections at Tunisia, funeral of Michael Sata, former President of the Republic of Zambia, border security tightening in Algeria, blasts in Egyptian cities of Cairo and Sinai, terrorist attacks on Egyptian navy, raids by the Kenyan police on Mombasa mosques, and suicide bombings in Libya.

The article offers information on whether territorial disputes and religious wars moved the world from a post-war into a pre-war. It mentions that events in Syria and Iraq suggest that the Middle East could be in for upheaval and carnage as great as anything the Balkans saw. China has emerged as a major economic power in the last 30 years and has opt to invest an increasing share of its growing wealth in military spending like Germany in 1914.

B The move flies in the face of ECOWAS' concerns b . Following the coup, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended Guinea from its ranks, imposed sanctions and called for a return to civilian rule within six months. I (Africaguinee 17/5) i On May 18th, dozens of Guinea's largest political parties vowed to defy the ruling junta's ban on demonstrations in a further hardening of relations with the military. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including China's economic and military rise a threat to the U.S., how Chinese analysts assess the outcomes of China's regional initiatives; and Tsai Ing-wen's election as president of Taiwan.

The article discusses Japan's military policy under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in relation to Japanese relations with the U.S. Topics include U.S. defense treaty obligations to Japan in relation to a potential military conflict between Japan and China, Japan's relations with North Korea, and Abe's support for strengthening Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF). Also addressed are Abe's political status in Japan, the impact of the U.S. decision not to militarily intervene in Syria's civil war on U.S. relations with Japan, and the notion of Collective Self-Defense involving the U.S. and Japan.

We examine how the United States' response to the situation in Bahrain can be differentiated from that in Libya and Egypt based on a comparative content analysis of the U. S. administration's press releases, remarks, and interviews during the first three months of the Arab Spring movement. Our findings indicate that although the level and duration of violence were comparable, the U. S. government response was strikingly different with the support given to the Bahraini government, in contrast to the critical stances adopted towards Libya and Egypt. We explain how the United States' lack of political incentive to act and concerted support by its allies were influential factors for the United States' differentiated policy during the Arab Spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a maritime boundary dispute and potential naval conflict between China and Japan regarding the Senkaku Islands or Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea as of January 2014. Topics include the modernization of China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), conflict between the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), and China's creation of an East China Sea area Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Japan's naval policy and its alliance with the U.S. are addressed.

The article focuses on the efforts of recognizing and preserving democracy in India and Sri Lanka. Topics discussed include history of adult franchise in 1950s to establish electoral democracy, ensuring the liberty of individuals, and complications of India Pakistan dispute over Kashmir, and political unrest in Sri Lanka by the Tamils.

The economic reforms implemented by the Thein Sein government face several challenges, some of which continue from the past military regime and some of which are new. The government is starting to overhaul institutions in order to obtain market-based macroeconomic policy tools, which will possibly eliminate a long-lasting fundamental cause of economic instability. One essential challenge is to design policies to encourage private capital, and to promote the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, which have already shown a high potential. At the same time, a regulatory framework and a well-functioning financial system, which are essential to encourage private capital with market discipline, must be developed. A recent rise in natural resources exports created both a fiscal cushion and balance-of-payments surplus, which seems to have promoted reforms. However, the government should be aware that the recent favorable conditions may not last for a long future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the book "Working Toward Peace and Prosperity in Afghanistan," edited by Wolfgang Danspeckgruber.

This article discusses the unconcerned attitudes that the majority of individuals under 30 years old in South Korea allegedly hold concerning the potential threats posed by North Korea, the topic of reunification, and the involvement of U.S. troops in South Korea's defense. Topics include an assertion that South Korea's first-world status and booming economy have imposed a state of comfortable indifference on youth unexposed to prior conflicts, the younger generations' views of South Korea's Unification Ministry, and the impact of crimes committed by U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea on the South Korean youth's opinions about the U.S.'s military presence.

The article offers information on the warfare in Yemen in 2012. It says that Shabwa and Abyan provincial regions in the country have been declared as Islamic emirates that harbor Al-Qaeda fighters in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Moreover, it explores the impact of drones in the instability of the country as the military and counterterrorism (CT) strategy applied by the administration of the U.S. President Barack Obama.

The article presents two opposing opinions on the need for U.S. military intervention in preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program. Ideas presented in support of U.S. assistance to an Israeli attack on Iran include the ineffectiveness of economic sanctions against Iran; the failure of diplomatic efforts to negotiate the dismantling of Iran's military program; genocidal threats made by Iran; and the dangers posed to Israel if Iran develops nuclear weapons. In support of the position to delay an attack on Iran, the author points to the diplomatic efforts of the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama; the continuing economic effects in Iran due to international sanctions; and the impending fall of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Warfare today is associated with neoliberal projects for global governance rather than the territorial strategic objectives of nation states. As such, political commentators have routinely begun to insist that the world has seen the end of apocalyptic threats of nuclear war that marked the Cold War era. Yet for all that contemporary war appears as a limited policing action, the world still possesses vast arsenals of nuclear weapons. This article examines one of the few studies to have argued for the ongoing political significance of such weapons, Hardt and Negri’s Empire trilogy. By focusing on the various ways in which they have posited nuclear weapons’ relationship to the global biopolitics of Empire, it contends that a significant continuity can be discerned between their work and earlier postmodern analysis of nuclear deterrence, which saw deterrence as a crucial determinate of postmodern life. Drawing on Carl Schmitt as a key figure in contemporary thought on sovereignty, and offering a re-reading of his ideas via this earlier generation of theorists, it will examine the relationship between air power, atomic weaponry, and the political ordering of a global nomos in order to conceptualise deterrence in the present moment. It argues that this postmodern thought on deterrence continues to be relevant in understanding the biopolitics of Empire, while showing that the principles of deterrence render Empire a more indeterminate structure in world affairs than Hardt and Negri suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates the impact of the 2011 Arab Spring popular uprisings on violence in the Palestinian region of the West Bank and Gaza, as well as in Israel. Topics include statistics related to Palestinian fatalities at the hand of Israeli soldiers, March 2011 rocket and mortar fire from Gaza on Israel, as well as the impact of 2011-2012 Egyptian politics on the conflict.

The debate over sovereignty in Lebanon involves a battle among distinct and varying political imaginaries. This struggle is evident in the negotiation of the Syrian presence within Lebanon prior to the withdrawal of the Syrian military in the spring of 2005. I focus here on the early public call for change made by the Maronite Patriarch that preceded the broader national movement for Syrian withdrawal. I argue that this statement challenged previously entrenched concepts regarding the relationship between Syria and Lebanon and contributed to redefining Lebanese discourses of sovereignty. Specifically, I look at the metaphor of kin relations: aspects of a sibling relationship that embed Lebanon in a script of reciprocal obligations are contrasted with a more individuated notion of state rights. The rhetorical strategy of contrasting the rights and obligations of brotherhood relations through the use of marked terms of dependency and inequality became a means for revising the discussion of the political relationship between the two countries while still maintaining the trope of Arab brotherhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers the author's insights regarding the capability of Iran to acquire or build its own nuclear weapons and became a dominant country in the Middle East. The author disproves the notion that 2010 would be the year for Iran to finally create its own nuclear weapons due to several reasons such as the continues economic sanctions by the U.S. and United Nations (UN) and the lack of technology to develop these weapons. He discusses several means on how to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons such as the use of tougher economic sanctions, military strike to its known nuclear facilities and diplomacy. Moreover, he states that reduction of U.S. troops in the Middle East and assurance that it would not be attacked could urge Iran to enter a peace agreement.

This essay provides a background on the history of U.S.–Nicaraguan relations, the Contra War of the 1980s, and the Reagan administration’s “public diplomacy” efforts, then examines in depth seven major themes or arguments advanced by Contra War opponents (a mix of leftist, religious, and peace groups). The more moderate themes were widely endorsed in the mainstream media and among liberal members of Congress, while the more radical themes—those challenging nationalistic and Cold War stereotypes—made little headway in the media and Congress, however much they raised consciousness among U.S. citizens. All in all, the author argues, the anti-Contra War campaign served important functions by buttressing congressional opposition to the war, supporting Latin American diplomatic efforts, and advancing a perspective that was both realistic and empathetic, the building blocks of a progressive peace consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the militant group Boko Haram is still seen as a serious threat in Nigeria despite the military gains that the country has to combat the jihadist group.

The article reports on a joint operation between the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo and Rwanda launched on January 20, 2009 in DR Congo. It is noted that the joint operation aims to root out rebel groups who have been causing instability and war in the region since the 1990s. It is also the result of a quid pro quo deal between Rwanda President Paul Kagame and President Joseph Kabila of the DR Congo.

The article discusses the argument that resolution on the tensions between U.S. and Iran through diplomacy is a sign of hipocracy. It is mentioned that U.S. used the military aid to employ tension in the Middle East. It includes a Memorandum of Agreement in Jerusalem signed by Under Secretary of State Burns with Bank of Israel. This agreement was a part of the military aid package announced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The article, however, mentions that racing regional arms is not effective to ease tensions with Iran. It explains that it is hipocracy for President George W. Bush to mentions that destroying human life in the hope of saving human life is not ethical.

The article discusses about another impending war in the Middle East following the assassination of the chief of military operations of Shoebill, Mad Magnify. According to the article, as early as February 5, 2008, the tensions in the Lebanese-Israeli border rised after Israeli Troops killed a Lebanese drug smuggler connected to Hezbollah and works by collecting intelligence within Israel for Hezbollah. It is believed that this event would make Hezbollah obliged to make a response. It is also reported that Syria is conducting military operations on the belief that Israel would attack.

Examines the implications of the controversial military relations between Israel and China for Israeli foreign policy as of 2005. Impact of the Sino-Israeli military collaboration on the foreign relations between the U.S. and Israel; List of U.S. reports on the threat posed by the Israeli and Chinese military collaboration; Rupture in Sino-Israeli ties.