In The News 6 June - 10 June
Broadcast
Margaret Gilmore on the war in Syria, 5 June
Afzal Ashraf on Al Jazeera News Live
Afzal Ashraf for Al Jazeera, 6 June
Engineers of Jihad, Orange Jumpsuits
"It's very difficult to draw any unique profile...almost every study you see comes away with a basic data point which is that they are amorphous group."
Raffaello Pantucci for BBC Radio 4 (21:34), June 6
BBC Parliament - U.K. National Live House of Commons
There should a separate body known as the investigatory Powers commission… This is what was recommended by the Royal United Services Institute independent survey in in its review.
RUSI Report featured in the House of Commons, June 6
Op-Eds
How Putin killed NATO’s agreement with Russia
It is quite reasonable then to ask oneself here in the West: why should NATO insist on preservation of the Russia-NATO Founding Act if Russia itself so clearly demonstrates a lack of any interest in the document?
Igor Sutyagin for Newsweek, June 3
Also for Canmua, June 4
Security in Asia gets Europe's attention
Still, appearances matter as much as facts; Britain's courtship of Chinese investments, coupled with the lavish reception given to Chinese President Xi Jinping in London last year and London's deafening silence over developments in the South China Sea have all contributed to the impression that the British no longer have a strategic stake in Asia.
Jonathan Eyal in The Straits Times, 7 June
Mentioned in the Media
Ex-Navy head: Government is not ‘coming clean’ over Clyde order delays
Peter Roberts of the Royal United Services Institute think tank said there was a £750 million gap between what has been committed for the Type-26 programme and what is needed, adding: “There isn’t a capability question but I think there will be as we go ahead. What it’s going to mean for the Clyde is very significant.”
Peter Roberts in The National 8 June
Ex-Navy boss Lord West says lack of cash is delaying Type 26 project
‘It has taken almost 20 years to get submarine building back on track properly and has cost an extra three-quarters-of-a-billion more than if we had got on with it then.’
BBC, 7 June
EU Politics
Britain’s exit from the EU would necessitate review of British defense posture: Expert
In a new report, Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal united Services Institute (RUSI) presents a personal argument stating that a U.K. decision to leave the EU would be as significant a shift in U.K. national strategy, as the decision in the late 1960s to withdraw from bases East of Suez and,. As a result, the decision to leave the EU would necessitate a new Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR).
Malcolm Chalmers for Homeland Security News Wire, 3 June
EU Exit Arguments Are Unconvincing
Internally, exiting the EU, could spark spending cuts for the British military and require a new strategic defense and security review, according to a report by the deputy director-general of the Royal United Services Institute think tank.
Malcolm Chalmers for Defence News, 6 June
Nord Stream 2: Business unusual
British experts, such as Jonathan Eyal for the Rusi think tank in London, agree. “This project will make Germany more secure and central Europe less secure. It’s so self-evident that it makes me laugh when I hear people try to contradict that,” Eyal said.
Jonathan Eyal for EUObservor 7 June
Swedish, Polish Ministers Call for No Brexit
Last week, the Royal United Services Institute think tank warned that the UK leaving could lead countries to reassess their security spending.
Defence News, 8 June
EU referendum morning briefing: Leave threatens £2.4bn bill for Britain
Tory MP Julian Brazier and Labour defence shadow Emily Thornberry debate the EU at the Royal United Services Institute.
RUSI Event in The Guardian, 6 June
Counter-terror
Islamic State likely to target Southeast Asia in coming months, analysts say
“if we saw an attack somewhere in Southeast Asia that is seen as being inspired, linked or maybe even directed by IS."
Raffaello Pantucci for South China Morning Post, 10 June
How Remote? Specter Of Chemical Attack Via Drone Haunts Euro 2016 Preparations
"I think we're looking at a threat which is genuine and substantial, and I think it's one that security forces are finding themselves having to respond to in this way of elevating concern amongst the public," says Raffaello Pantucci, a counterterrorism expert with the London-based Royal United Studies Institute (RUSI).
Raffaello Pantucci for Radio Free Europe, 9 June
Euro 2016: How France is guarding against a terrorist attack
ISIS is getting "squeezed" in Iraq and Syria and may want to show the world they are still "a force to be reckoned with," and after Brussels there is a likelihood that ISIS militants are hiding in Europe.
Margaret Gilmore for Yahoo News, June 6
Also in The Christian Science Monitor, 6 June
How Remote? Specter Of Chemical Attack Via Drone Haunts Euro 2016 Preparations
I think we're looking at a threat which is genuine and substantial, and I think it's one that security forces are finding themselves having to respond to in this way of elevating concern amongst the public.
Raffaello Pantucci for Dublin News, 4 June
Nuclear Policy
Indo-US agreement to would "free" N-technology suppliers from being held liable for nuclear accidents
The US backing India’s membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) clears “only just one of many obstacles” on way to obtain missile and missile-related technology. According to him, “In all likelihood, the US is likely to treat the export of armed drones to India with much more caution than it does to NATO allies.”
Shashank Joshi in Counterview, 9 June
Kevan Jones: Nuclear deterrent has helped to keep the peace – so it’s time the doubters fronted up about their beliefs
Emily Thornberry, Labour’s shadow defence secretary, speaking at the UK Project on Nuclear Issues annual conference at the Royal United Services Institute last week, clearly stated that she was not convinced why the UK needs to maintain its independent nuclear deterrent, through the procurement of four nuclear ballistic missile submarines that will replace the current Vanguard-class when they reach the end of their lives in the early 2030s.
LabourList, 8 June
Silk Road
China’s Silk Road may not be that silky
“Much of the historical bilateral projects have been funded through linked loans, where China provides the funding through loans that have stipulations attached to them, such as the requirement that Chinese companies implement the projects on the ground. In other cases where China’s Exim bank or the Silk Road Economic Belt CDB has provided loans to fund projects, it is unclear whether there are any short- or medium-term returns or even security on the investment.”
Sarah Lain and Raffaello Pantucci for The Asia Times, 8 June
RUSI Events
Cyber Security
Britain's spies can now keep fighting our enemies in the digital age
Firstly, multiple independent reviews (by David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, the Royal United Services Institute and the Intelligence and Security Committee) concluded that our intelligence agencies are categorically NOT engaged in "mass surveillance". The tools are used scrupulously and are subject to strict checks and rigorous oversight.
The Telegraph 8 June