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Russia Security Update: February 17-24, 2016

Feb 24, 2016 - Hugo Spaulding

Russia is reshaping the balance of military power in the Middle East and Black Sea region even as it faces potential defense budget cuts. Low oil prices and Western sanctions have caused a prolonged economic crisis in Russia, leading to new proposals for a 5 percent cut in the 2016 military budget. Russia continued efforts to offset the effects of low oil prices and Western sanctions by marketing its military hardware in the Middle East and Asia.

Afghanistan Partial Threat Assessment: February 23, 2016

Feb 24, 2016 - Harleen Gambhir

Security in Afghanistan has been deteriorating since U.S. force levels dropped from a high of 100,000 in 2011 to the current force size of 9,800 they reached in June 2014.  Lt. Gen. John W. “Mick” Nicholson, the incoming commander of Operation Resolute Support and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, agreed with the remark that “the security situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating rather than improving” in a Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing on January 28.

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