Showing 21 - 30 of 44
Safer vehicles can make terrorist strikes much harder
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 07/06/2017
» 'Enough is enough," UK Prime Minister Theresa May declared after the London terror attack on Saturday night, the third one this year. But what she proposed to counter the terrorist attacks was, essentially, some freedom of speech restrictions, more powers for law enforcement and longer sentences for terror-related offenses -- the same old toolbox that has been used for almost two decades.
The key to tackling North Korea is Vladimir Putin
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 19/05/2017
» The idea of a grand bargain between the United States and Russia is less popular in Washington than ever before. And yet one of the biggest foreign policy problems for the US -- that of North Korea -- cannot be resolved without Russia's participation. In recent years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made sure to rebuild a close relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and it's no longer enough to talk to China to mitigate the Stalinist state's aggressiveness.
Don't rush to judge in war crimes -- the truth will out
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 19/04/2017
» Something is wrong with the standard of proof we're willing to accept for extremely serious accusations. There's a cost to credibility and a need to weigh available evidence calmly before approving or criticising potentially deadly government action.
Deeper malicious intent seen in 'public' cyberwar
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 16/01/2017
» Compared with the alleged Russian hacks of the Democratic National Committee and other US targets, another important cyber theft that has also been tentatively attributed to Russia is getting far less attention. The revelations are much less titillating than those that have made headlines recently -- they aren't even understandable to most people -- but they may be part of the same cyberwar, one whose rules seem to be changing.
Putin sees himself as world's 'chess grandmaster'
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 09/01/2017
» Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a roll. The catalog of his alarming moves is well-known: aggression in Ukraine, interference in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad, stepped-up intelligence efforts that may include a hybrid operation to discredit Hillary Clinton, a slick, prolific propaganda machine, support for nationalist and populist movements in Europe. But why is Mr Putin doing all this?
The biggest problem of the West is dwindling trust
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 06/01/2017
» Many Americans gasp when they see Donald Trump mockingly put the word "intelligence" in quotes when referring to the US intelligence community; it seems heretical to challenge the wisdom and expertise of institutions charged with safeguarding their security and freedoms. As a Russian, I just shrug: I have never believed a word coming from my country's intelligence services. This cultural gap is shrinking, though. Western societies are turning into low-trust ones, after the post-Communist, Eastern European model.
US intelligence got the wrong cyber bear
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 04/01/2017
» The "Russian hacking" story in the US has gone too far. That it's not based on any solid public evidence, and that reports of it are often so overblown as to miss the mark, is only a problem to those who worry about disinformation campaigns, propaganda and journalistic standards -- a small segment of the general public. But the recent US government report that purports to substantiate technical details of recent hacks by Russian intelligence is off the mark and has the potential to do real damage to far more people and organisations.
Why the Russian ambassador became a key target
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 22/12/2016
» A growing geopolitical role comes at a price in blood, as Russia was forcefully reminded on Monday when its ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was shot in an Ankara art gallery. Russia might not be paying that price had it kept out of the Syrian conflict but, paradoxically, it has now joined the West in footing this bill.
A new Russia policy requires Exxon CEO's skills
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 14/12/2016
» If Donald Trump chooses Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, it will be proof that his administration will take a new approach to US policy toward Russia, as he hinted during the campaign. The dismay about that shift in the expert and intelligence community may be a good sign: The same experts and spies have led the Obama administration into a series of missteps that have embarrassed the US and helped advance President Vladimir Putin's agenda.
Why Putin won't admit the truth about Russia doping
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 21/07/2016
» Russian President Vladimir Putin is changing his tune about the doping scandal that has engulfed Russian Olympic and paralympic athletes. As proof mounts that the use of performance-enhancing drugs is a state-sponsored system in Russia, Mr Putin appears less and less willing to cooperate with international sports organisations and increasingly inclined to complain about political conspiracies against his country.