RUSI in the News 10-16 December

15 December 2016

Cairo bombing: Isis attacks all Egyptians and Islam when it strikes Coptic Christians

Those who carried out the attack on Sunday attacked more than the symbol of Egyptian Christianity. They attacked Egyptians, and Islam alongside them. Sectarian incitement, and the violence it informs, is a scourge – and all must take seriously, and reject the cynicism of tolerating, or even using it, for political ends.

HA Hellyer for The International Business Times, 14 December

Broadcast

Daesh and Aleppo

With the global coalition against Daesh meeting in London, Dr Karin von Hippel discusses the latest development in light of the Syrian regime's takeover of Aleppo.

Karin von Hippel on The Today Programme, 15 December

Quoted in the Media

Chief of Defence Staff Lecture

RUSI recieved coverage of the Chief of Defence Staff Annual Lecture in:

The Evening Standard,

The Daily Mail

The Sun

The Express

The Nation

The International Business TImes

The Syrian Conflict

Why the war in Syria won’t end with the battle for Aleppo

That’s been the military strategy (for Assad) for a long time, to erode the middle ground, to present a black-and-white narrative in which eventually it’s either Assad or IS, in which case the entire world’s going to choose Assad,” Stephens said.

Michael Stephens for Vice News, 15 December

China–US Relations

China has been getting its way with the world for three decades. Thanks to Trump, that's over

If Donald Trump has miscalculated, it could mean a confrontation between two of world’s superpowers – with consequences that will impact us all.

Raffaello Pantucci for The Telegraph, 13 December

NATO and the Baltic

Romania boosts Nato role as Black Sea tension rises

“Romania is not only in the front line of Nato countries, but it is one of the most important pillars on the southern flank of Nato,” said Jonathan Eyal, international director of the Royal United Services Institute in London. “It is also hosting one of the most sensitive military installations,” he added, referring to a missile defence system that Russia sees as a strategic threat.

“Some think that for the incoming Trump administration, this could be one of the areas that could be traded off as part of a new deal with Russia.”

Jonathan Eyal for The Irish Times, 14 December

Airpower

Defence experts warn of 'disaster' for Britain after Donald Trump suggests undoing 'out of control' F-35 fighter jet project

Liz Quintana, air power expert at the Royal United Services Institute agreed that if America decided to cancel the programme, it would leave Britain and other European allies who have placed orders "a bit stuck".She said there was no alternative so-called fifth generation stealth fighter available anywhere else, or even on the drawing board.

She said: "The US Air Force would be as stuck as anyone else in terms of what it buys instead."

Elizabeth Quintana for The Telegraph, 12 December

‘Israel’s new stealth fighters unable to damage Iranian nuclear sites’

“It’s not a perfect aircraft for operations against Iran by any means, but it’s certainly better suited to penetrating modern air defenses than anything else the Israeli air force operates at the moment,” according to Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK-based military think-tank.

Justin Bronk for Press Association, 13 December

US–Russia Relations

Propaganda war

But as Ewan Lawson, senior research fellow for military influence at the Royal United Services Institute, explained to The World Weekly, Russian foreign policy is not always “coherent” and centralised, but instead can be characterised as “a series of fragmented actors operating within a broad sense of direction”. In other words, not being able to trace the hacks directly back to Vladimir Putin does not mean they aren’t his policy.

Ewan Lawson for The World Weekly, 15 December

The fight against Daesh

US-backed Iraqi troops gain more ground in Mosul despite ISIS resistance

“There is little doubt that the fight ISIS has put up is more than was expected. The problem is made worse by the lack of available forces that can successfully close the noose around Mosul and get ISIS to divert resources away from defending the eastern side of the city,” he said.

Michael Stephens for ARA News, 11 December