By: James Bridger Despite attempts to brand itself as a luxury tour destination, Kenya has been unable to escape the harsh reality that it borders a failed state of Hobbesian proportions. Instability has spilled over in recent weeks, as Somali militants launched a series of daring raids into Kenyan territory: On 11 September Judith Tebbutt, Read More…
Africa
African Region
Piracy Watch: Preventing the “Somalization” of West Africa
By: James Marcus Bridger An All Too Familiar Event On September 14, armed pirates commandeered an idling tanker, the Matteus I, making off with its cargo of crude oil and 23 hostages. While such events no longer make headlines when they occur off the coast of Somalia, this hijacking took place on the other side Read More…
A War for Oil?
Dr. Dmitri Rogozin, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to NATO, takes aim at the Alliance’s humanitarian intervention in Libya.
Following the Somali Pirates’ Money Trail
By: James Bridger. Somali pirates took in approximately $240 million in ransom payments last year, an enormous sum, particularly for a country where the average yearly income is roughly $600. While the NATO Council’s previous article addressed the myriad risks posed by the expansion of Somali piracy, the question of how this money is spent Read More…
The Libyan Quagmire: A Call for American Leadership
By: Melanie Clarke. For the past five weeks, the world has been inundated with stories and reports on Libya, culminating with the deaths of two award winning photojournalists in the besieged city of Misurata, Libya. But as we settle into the fifth week of the UN sanctioned intervention in Libya, the story remains the same, Read More…
Canada’s Maritime Security: A Guide to the Issues
By James M. Bridger. As a nation surrounded by three great oceans, Canada’s maritime security has been of preeminent importance throughout the country’s history. Once boasting the world’s third largest navy, Canadian forces were instrumental in the Allied victory during the Battle of the Atlantic and have since played a significant global role in Read More…
NATO TAKES CHARGE OF LIBYAN NO-FLY ZONE: CANADIAN GENERAL IN COMMAND
By Robert Baines. On Thursday night, after several days of hard bargaining, the 28 NATO member states came to a consensus that the alliance would take over command responsibility for the no-fly zone in Libya. NATO’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, stated that NATO has decided to assume responsibility for the no-fly zone mandated under Read More…
Somali Piracy and the World’s Response
A Failed State, Small Boats and Big Money: The Expansion of Somali Piracy and the World’s Response. By James Bridger. More Attacks, Higher Costs Over the course of the past decade, Somali piracy has transformed from a localized nuisance into an international crisis. In 2004, the first response to the growing threat posed by piracy Read More…