Comments & Briefs

Unlike ‘hard’ measures, ‘soft’ ones can succeed in softening the hearts and minds of even hard-core terrorists, especially when they are disillusioned, longing for a normal life, and want to exit from terrorism.

Given the rapidly evolving situation in West Asia, and the growing danger of new threats like nuclear terrorism, it would seem that the time has come for Israel to come clean on its nuclear arsenal.

While the notion of Malaysia as an Islamic state appears almost unthinkable, this is exactly what has transpired since the early 1980s, posing serious challenges for the country’s internal and external politics.

Xi Jinping's attempt to dejargonise political language is timely. however, how it impacts the ideology is going to be important.

This paper seeks to understand the nature of cooperation between the UN and other IGOs in ongoing conflicts. It will examine the security framework in which these multilateral arrangements were created, the gaps they were trying to cover, and the problems and areas of opportunities.

Air presence is a critical factor in counterinsurgency operations as it provides a high level of dominance and control over the situation.

While the Turkey deal represents an advance on the Iran nuclear issue, it remains to be seen if it would lead to more constructive solutions in addressing concerns generated by the Iranian nuclear programme.

While the DPJ is not averse to the idea of revising the constitution, an unfavourable domestic situation and adverse reactions from neighbours are likely to force the Hatoyama government to limit the exercise to a debate.

There is a need to modify existing laws and if need be create new ones so that extremists and terrorists do not go scot-free and continue to pose a threat to the country.

As an old fighter pilot, I would always pitch for a light, easily manoeuvrable, agile and relatively inexpensive fighter that delivers every time, generates high sortie rates and is easy to maintain and train on a day to day peace time schedule.