Irag

Putin Reawakens the Russian Bear

February 13, 2012 (Vietnamica) — Coverage of Vladimir Putin’s impending return to the Presidency of Russia on March 4th has so far focused almost exclusively on the menace posed to Russia’s teetering democracy.  Conspicuously, little analysis has been offered regarding the impact Putin’s eminent reprisal of the Kremlin’s top job is having on Russia’s foreign policy – particularly when it comes to how political events are playing out in Syria and the Middle East.

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Stratfor’s Annual Forecast 2012

January 12, 2012 (Vietnamica) –There are periods when the international system undergoes radical shifts in a short time. The last such period was 1989-1991. During that time, the Soviet empire collapsed. The Japanese economic miracle ended. The Maastricht Treaty creating contemporary Europe was signed. Tiananmen Square defined China as a market economy dominated by an unchallenged Communist Party, and so on. Fundamental components of the international system shifted radically, changing the rules for the next 20 years.

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CFR: U.S. Officially Ends Iraq War

December 15, 2011 (Vietnamica) — The U.S. military officially declared an end to the nine-year-old war in Iraq at a ceremony in Baghdad (NYT) that was attended by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The United States will close its last two military bases in the country and withdraw its remaining four thousand combat troops by December 31. However, a few hundred military personnel and Pentagon civilians will stay in Baghdad to work within an Office of Security Cooperation at the U.S. embassy.

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