EU Militaries Pool Resources, Reduce Dependence on America

EU defense ministers attend a Defense Ministers Council on March 22, at EU headquarters in Brussels. (Georges Gobet/AFP/Getty Images)  From Thetrumpet.com EU nations will invest in joint military projects such as air-to-air refueling and field hospitals as they try to save money and reduce their dependence on the United States, defense ministers from across the European Union decided...

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Poland's Vulnerability Amid Missile Diplomacy

JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L), German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (C) and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Berlin on March 21 Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski visited Berlin on March 21 to meet informally with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The visit, while...

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The Tuaregs: From African Nomads to Smugglers and Mercenaries

The Tuaregs, a nomadic tribe in North and West Africa, dominated the caravan trade through the Sahara Desert for thousands of years. Their entire way of life was disrupted, however, by the imposition of borders, natural desertification, urbanization and the rise of maritime trade. In their quest to survive, the Tuaregs have launched several revolts in Mali and Niger, fought as mercenaries in the Libyan civil war and used their expertise to smuggle illicit goods, which brought them...

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The United States in Korea: A Strategy of Inertia

By George Friedman After U.S. President Barack Obama visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone on March 25 during his trip to South Korea for a nuclear security summit, he made the obligatory presidential remarks warning North Korea against continued provocations. He also praised the strength of U.S.-South Korean relations and commended the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed there. Obama's visit itself is of little importance, but it is an opportunity to ask just what Washington's strategy...

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Gunman dead as French siege ends

A police siege in the French city of Toulouse has ended with a man suspected of killing seven people now dead, the French interior minister has said. Police stormed the flat where Mohammed Merah was holed up at 09:30 GMT, after a siege that had lasted 32 hours. Merah fired at officers and was found dead after jumping from a window. The self-confessed al-Qaeda militant was suspected of killing four people outside a Jewish school and three soldiers in three separate...

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Germany Hasn’t Given Up on a United States of Europe

From theTrumpet.com Led by Berlin, a select group of 10 states has formed to ‘revive the ideal of a united Europe.’ The name “Berlin Club” evokes images of a secretive organization, one in which wealthy old aristocrats gather together to drink scotch and plot to conquer the world.  By Brad MacDonald Time will tell, but that impression might not be too far from reality. Created and led by Germany, the “Berlin Club” met for the first time on March 20 in Berlin....

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New Protests Test Saudi Monarchy's Control

The Arabian Peninsula has not been immune to the wave of recent demonstrations in countries across the Middle East. Notably, protests have been ongoing in Saudi Arabia's Shiite-concentrated Eastern Province for more than a year. Recently, however, unrelated demonstrations began in parts of the country where such unrest is rare, including a March 19 protest by female students demanding changes...

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Mali: Soldiers Reportedly Seize Power In Coup

Soldiers seized power in a coup in Bamako on March 22 and deposed President Amadou Toumani Toure, The Guardian reported. The mutineers, calling themselves the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State (CNRDR) said they suspended the constitution and dissolved institutions. Leader Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo announced a curfew on state television. CNRDR spokesman Amadou Konare said the group will hand power back to an elected president after the country is unified...

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Russia's Energy Plans for Turkey

Russia is interested in building natural gas storage facilities in Turkey, officials from Russia's Gazprom said March 20. Over the winter, Gazprom redirected natural gas from its storage facilities in Europe after a spike in demand in Turkey. Now, Gazprom wants to build underground natural gas storage facilities in Turkey to help when supplies dwindle in the future. Gazprom's proposal is part of Russia's larger strategy -- in both Turkey and Europe -- to increase Moscow's energy...

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How Myanmar Liberates Asia by Robert D. Kaplan

Myanmar's ongoing liberalization and its normalization of relations with the outside world have the possibility of profoundly affecting geopolitics in Asia -- and all for the better. Geographically, Myanmar dominates the Bay of Bengal. It is where the spheres of influence of China and India overlap. Myanmar is also abundant in oil, natural gas, coal, zinc, copper, precious stones, timber and hydropower, with some uranium deposits as well. The prize of the Indo-Pacific region, Myanmar...

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The State of the World: Assessing China's StrategyThe State of the World: Assessing China's Strategy

By George Friedman Simply put, China has three core strategic interests. Paramount among them is the maintenance of domestic security. Historically, when China involves itself in global trade, as it did in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the coastal region prospers, while the interior of China -- which begins about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the coast and runs about 1,600 kilometers to the west -- languishes. Roughly two-thirds of all Chinese citizens currently have household...

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The State of the World: Germany's Strategy

By George Friedman The idea of Germany having an independent national strategy runs counter to everything that Germany has wanted to be since World War II and everything the world has wanted from Germany. In a way, the entire structure of modern Europe was created to take advantage of Germany's economic dynamism while avoiding the threat of German domination. In writing about German strategy, I am raising the possibility that the basic structure of Western Europe since World War...

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