Turkey, Russian Arms, and a Nervous NATO
By Clayton Chudleigh Earlier this month, the Republic of Turkey defied the United States and NATO by accepting the delivery of the S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile system from Russia. The S-400 is the successor of the S-300 missile system, and compared to the U.S. Patriot missile system is capable of…
Syria: Ankara’s Simmering Problem
Turkey in Syria Before the Syrian Civil War, Turkey was one of the loudest voices calling for regime change in Syria. When the fighting began, Erdoğan turned his back on any positive feelings that Bashar al-Assad and he may have still had and began supporting rebel forces (Aras 2012). Turkish…
The Role of Ukraine in Testing the US and NATO
Jeff Bates The conflict in Ukraine is very important to American, NATO, and Russian security. Russia has been testing its limits by annexing Crimea in 2014 and then by participating in the Ukrainian conflict. With sanctions affecting the Russian economy, Russia is using different tools to circumnavigate the sanctions by using China. With…
Afghanistan’s Dual Supply Problem
Afghanistan will face two major issues this year. The more publicized issue is Pakistan’s refusal to open up their supply routes into Afghanistan for NATO use. The lesser known issue is the devastatingly poor poppy harvest. Both of these problems will create unique challenges for NATO forces. A brief examination…
