By Christoph Reuter An Iraqi officer planned Islamic State’s takeover in Syria and SPIEGEL has been given exclusive access to his papers. They portray an organization that, while seemingly driven by religious fanaticism, is actually coldly calculating. Aloof. Polite. Cajoling. Extremely attentive. Restrained. Dishonest. Inscrutable. Malicious. The rebels …

SPIEGEL ONLINE : US intelligence spent years spying on European targets from a secretive base. Now, it seems that German intelligence was aware of the espionage — and did nothing to stop it. It was obvious from its construction speed just how important the new site in Bavaria …

Sputnik: The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road project could resolve the longstanding South China Sea maritime disputes that have always been considered a stumbling block to multilateral collaboration in the region. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road project may facilitate the resolution of the longstanding South China Sea maritime …

The Bolivian Defense Ministry has already received offers from Brazil, China, Russia and Argentina. The country plans to use jet fighters to intercept drug trafficking across its borders. Russia will deliver to Bolivia 20 new jet fighters if it is awarded with a contract from the Bolivian Defense Ministry, website Horas …

By Christian Neef From the National Interest On May 9, Russia is holding an enormous military parade to commemorate the end of World War II 70 years ago. With tensions between Russia and the West high, most European Union leaders are staying away from the event. This week, Russia President Vladimir Putin visited the …

By Marcel Rosenbach, Laura Poitras and Holger Stark From Speigel International Online The US intelligence agency NSA has been taking advantage of the smartphone boom. It has developed the ability to hack into iPhones, android devices and even the BlackBerry, previously believed to be particularly secure. Michael Hayden has …

By John Allen From The National Interest The United States and Russia may be unwittingly stumbling down a path to deeper confrontation and even war, cautioned two prominent American national-security experts at a panel in Washington, D.C. Tuesday. Graham Allison, director of Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science …

By Thomas Wright From the National Interest Growing tensions between the West and Russia and between the United States and China go well beyond competing interests in a rustbelt in eastern Ukraine or over uninhabited rocks in the South China Sea. Fundamentally, they are about whether Russia and …

By Reiji Yoshida JAPAN TIMES   Prime Minister Shinzo Abe embarks on a seven-day tour of the United States this week, the highlight of which is a summit with President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday. The meeting has taken on added importance for the two leaders as …