RUSI in the News: 4 April - 10 April
Op – Eds
War on IS can’t be won until we define the fight
When we consider defensive posturing, correct and appropriate framing is crucial. As we identify (and not to the exclusion of other types of motivations) the politico-ideological motivations for attacks carried out by radical Islamist elements, ascribing those motivations to Islamism in general becomes problematic.
HA Hellyer for The Globe and Mail 07 April
Analysis: Russian gunships replace jets in Syria
The recent recapture of Palmyra from ISIL is an impressive achievement for the Syrian army and Russian air and technical support. In the more mobile warfare around Palmyra, low-flying helicopter gunships are more effective and militarily relevant than they were during operations against besieged moderate opposition-held cities.
Justin Bronk for Al Jazeera, Ezspk and The Daily Caller 08 April
Terrorist threat: Tempering grief with quiet determination
Similar and huge disparities exist in Europe. For instance, an estimated 3,400 people were killed on France's roads last year, yet none merited even a fraction of the outpour of public grief and government attention as did the November terrorist attacks in Paris, in which 130 people perished.
Jonathan Eyal for The Straits Times, 04 April
Dutch ballot on EU deal may sway Brits
More significantly, a rejection in the Netherlands will embolden EU opponents in Britain who claim that, if the Dutch have the guts to reject one treaty, the British could do even better by rejecting the entire union.
Jonathan Eyal for The Straits Times, 06 April
New UK work-visa curbs spark concern
There is no doubt that, regardless of their economic logic, Mrs May's measures enjoy broad public support. However, they also do entail some political risks. The new immigration restrictions apply only to non-Europeans; European Union citizens are still free to come and work as they wish.
Jonathan Eyal for The Straits Times, 09 April
Broadcast
Panama Papers
Tom Keatinge for BBC Newsnight 4 April
Tom Keatinge for BBC Panorama and quoted in BBC News and The Mail on Sunday 4 April
Tom Keatinge for IBN 5 April
Tom Keatinge for BBC World Service, 5 April (From 11 minutes in)
Quoted in the Media
Panama Papers
HSBC shuts accounts of Syrians in UK after 'lobbying' for Assad's cousin
"If, by nationality, you [the account holder] are linked to a country that is deemed by the bank in question to be high risk, then you're immediately in a category of risk that is higher than your next-door neighbour... who is just a UK citizen," Keatinge said.
Tom Keatinge for Middle East Eye 7 April
North Korea Sanctions
Beijing announces N.Korea trade sanctions implementation
“The timing of this announcement is consistent with the delays that could be reasonably expected from inter-departmental coordination over new measures,” Andrea Berger, of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told NK News on Tuesday.
Andrea Berger for NK News, 5 April
Cyber Security
Fallon announces new cyber-security centre for MoD
This, said Lawson, is “a 24/7/365 defence cyber security operations centre which I think stood up in around 2011 at a cost of between £600m and £700m. Given this investment, a further £40m at this time would seem to make sense against a developing threat picture.”
Ewan Lawson for SC Magazine 06 April
The Giulio Regeni case
Italy recalls ambassador from Egypt for talks about death of student
“An ally as close as the Italians has just decided we’re pulling our ambassador as we’re not satisfied with the level of cooperation,” he added. “This is a big precedent, not only for the Italians but the whole of the European Union.”
HA Hellyer in The Guardian, 8 April
Counter-radicalisation in the UK
Former jihadi says leaders are 'brainwashing' young Muslims into building an Islamic State in the UK
Speaking on the group, security expert Raffaello Pantucci, who has written a book on the extremists, said they were not mere “outcasts or losers”, but serious gangsters “who are good at drawing people in and giving them these very aggressive ideas".
Raffaello Pantucci for The Sun, 10 April
Defence of young Brighton jihadist rubbished by security expert
He said: "Nusrah and the groups he is fighting for do not indulge in the same sorts of public brutality we have seen with IS, though they have done such things behind closed doors.
Raffaello Pantucci in The Argus 5 April
UK Steel closures
Is UK steel really a strategic industry?
John Louth, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, the defence think-tank, said: “The quality of British steel has made a big difference to the UK defence industry, for example, making sure the new aircraft carriers stay as light and fast as possible.”
John Louth for The Financial Times, 5 April
Yemen Crisis
Exclusive: How the UK Secretly Helped Direct Lethal US Drone Strikes in Yemen
Last November Harriet Harman MP, chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, told an audience at the Royal United Services Institute that, "We must look at governance where we hand intelligence to others, such as the US, leading to a strike. We are culpable in that process."
VICE News 7 April
US Military Strategy
The US military no longer holds the technological aces—what can it do?
London is home to one of the richest concentrations of defence and security analysis in the world. From the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in the Temple, via the world leading War Studies department at King’s College on The Strand, to the Royal United Services Institute on Whitehall and beyond to Chatham House in St James’s Square there are four centres, within a mile, whose only global competition lies within the Washington DC beltway.
Prospect Magazine 4 April