In recent days, various media outlets have pointed to a very noticeable aggravation of the situation on the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The border between the two States is more than 1,400 kilometers long. Mutual threats are heard from both sides, and military units are being brought to the border from both sides. According…
These are the most realistic threat scenarios right now to Russia’s security interests. Tiny Tajikistan has outsized leverage that it might eventually employ in Afghanistan to push back against the Taliban. It’s well known that it shares a large border with its neighbor, the latter of which counts Tajiks as its second-largest minority, and its…
The situation in Afghanistan is like the ending of Charlie’s Wilson war. In the endgame there is no saving face and no victory is won. In fact a great vacuum remains, despite 20 years of US and NATO partner attempts to nation-building. It is not as if they did not know how it would end,…
The SCO would do well to coordinate its members’ efforts to contain Afghan-emanating regional terrorist threats such as ISIS-K, encourage a political compromise between Kabul and the Taliban, and devise a plan for developing the war-torn country’s connectivity potential so as to ensure its long-term stability. The future of Afghanistan is more uncertain than ever…
The Taliban’s lightning-fast takeover of Afghanistan in the wake of the US’ full military withdrawal by September 11th presents certain security concerns for India, but the South Asian state only has very limited options for ensuring its relevant interests, none of which credibly involve any conventional military involvement contrary to widespread speculation about this scenario….
Eager to enhance its negotiating leverage with the United States and Europe, Iran is projecting imminent membership of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in much the same way it pushed the signing of a much-touted 25-year cooperation agreement with the People’s Republic that has yet to have any real legs. Converting Iran’s SCO observer…
