Robert Bruce Ware

Robert Bruce Ware teaches at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He is author of Dagestan: Russian Hegemony and Islamic Resistance in the North Caucasus. He is editing The Fire Below: How Russia Shaped the Caucasus from Continuum Press.

The Imponderable Will To Fight in Iraq

American officials underestimated ISIL’s threat, according to their Commander-in-Chief. Only last winter, Obama himself described ISIL as a "JV Team.” Yet a year ago, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warned Americans of exactly that ISIL threat in an extraordinary New York Times op-ed. In the essay titled "A Plea for Caution from Russia: What Putin Has … Continue reading “The Imponderable Will To Fight in Iraq”

Iran Attack Could Spark Caucasus War and Economic Trouble

Russia’s Kavkaz-2012 strategic military training exercise later this month in the North Caucasus region may portend economic problems for the West. This is because the exercise is strategically linked to Russian expectations that Iran will be destabilized by the end of this year. If Iran is destabilized, Russia will uphold its obligations to Armenia under … Continue reading “Iran Attack Could Spark Caucasus War and Economic Trouble”

What Will Come of Anna Politkovskaya’s Death?

Anna Politkovskaya’s reporting is of enduring significance for the light it shed on abuses in Chechnya. Yet while her reports were compelling, her untimely death was not the only reason that they were incomplete. Politkovskaya rarely focused on the other side of her story: the fact that human rights abuses in Chechnya did not begin … Continue reading “What Will Come of Anna Politkovskaya’s Death?”

Opening With an Apology

I‘ll probably be sorry for suggesting it. But maybe it really wasn’t such a good idea for the CIA to help the British overthrow Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected, secular prime minister of Iran, back in 1953. Maybe we should have been more careful about installing the shah and propping him up with American arms. … Continue reading “Opening With an Apology”