Schools of Strategy & Iran | A Time Bomb ‘Supercharged’ by the Pandemic | • ISIS Calls for ‘Social Media Warfare’, and more

Victims of Extremism Urged to Share Experiences to Help UK Tackle Terror  (Sophie Wingate, Independent)People who have been targeted by extremists are being urged to share their experiences as part of a major independent review that will help the Government tackle hatred and division. The Government’s independent adviser for social cohesion and resilience, Dame Sara Khan, is launching a call for evidence on Thursday to help understand how extremism harms communities. Responses from victims, local authorities and members of the public will shape her recommendations on how the Government can better support and protect them. “Too often, the response to those sowing hatred and division is slow and ineffective. “That is why I have been asked by the Prime Minister to examine what more is required to protect social cohesion and build resilience against extremism at a local level. “I will be seeking to hear from victims of extremism whose life-changing experiences are often unrecognized and from local authorities and communities who play an invaluable role.” She added that she will take an “independent, impartial and evidence-based approach” in the public consultation, which will form part of her wider review of social cohesion and resilience. The widower of Labour MP Jo Cox, who was murdered by a far-right terrorist in her West Yorkshire constituency during the EU referendum campaign in 2016, called on people to take part.

German Police Raid Neo-Nazi Cells Across Country  (Guardian)German authorities have swooped on alleged neo-Nazi militant cells and arrested four suspects as the country pursues a forceful crackdown on far-right extremists. In what Der Spiegel magazine called “the biggest blow against the militant neo-Nazi scene in the recent past”, the federal prosecutor’s office said more than 1,000 officers had raided the homes of 50 suspects in 11 states. “The four men arrested are accused of membership of a rightwing extremist criminal organization,” it said in a statement, adding that some had also received other charges, including grievous bodily harm. Spiegel reported that one of the suspects was a non-commissioned officer in the German armed forces.  The suspects targeted on Wednesday were believed to belong to the far-right martial arts group Knockout 51, the banned Combat 18, named after the order in the alphabet of Adolf Hitler’s initials, the US-based Atomwaffen Division or the online propaganda group Sonderkommando 1418. Germany’s center-left-led government under chancellor Olaf Scholz took office in December pledging a decisive fight against far-right militants after criticism that the previous administration had been lax on neo-Nazi violence.

ISIS Calls for ‘Social Media Warfare’ to Counter ‘Enchanting’ Influencers and Incite  (Bridget Johnson, HSToday)
“Jihad is not limited to fighting physically, and fighting with tongues are as important as fighting physically,” ISIS-K said in new magazine issue.

Putin’s Failed State  (Andres Aslund, Project Syndicate)
Ukraine’s recent successes in repelling Russian forces have highlighted the sclerosis of Russia’s supposedly formidable military. Having bet everything on war and conquest, Vladimir Putin’s regime is now politically bankrupt, presiding over a modern-day Sparta that cannot even win on the battlefield.

Why Some Far-Right Circles are Contributing to Vladimir Putin’s Disinformation Campaign  (Beatriz Buarque, GNET)
In his speech on 24 February, while explaining the reasons for a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin questioned the credibility of Western politicians, political scientists and journalists, affirming that what they write and say is an “empire of lies.” Later on, he attacked Western countries for their alleged continuous attempts to destroy Russia’s traditional values in an attitude that would eventually lead to Russia’s “degradation and degeneration.” And a few minutes after that, he explicitly established an antagonism between the globalist West and Russia by claiming that “those who aspire to global dominance have publicly designated Russia as their enemy.” In these three passages, Vladimir Putin touched upon three themes often found in far-right circles: that Western mainstream media, the government, and academics are deceiving, producing content that serves a multicultural, progressist, and globalist agenda; that Western governments (also known as the ‘establishment’) are responsible for the erosion of traditional values; that Western governments are working towards global dominance as a means to have full control of its populations (bodily, ideological, and even spiritual – some might say). Three conspiracy theories that discursively delimitate who are them (the enemy) and who are us (the victims).

The Terrifying Neo-Nazi Mercenaries Being Deployed in Ukraine  (Mark Galeotti, The Spectator)
Given how the Kremlin is so determined to portray Ukraine as a hotbed of Nazis, it is tragically ironic not only that its own forces seem determined to recreate some of the horrors of the German invasion in the second world war, but also that it is so willing to use its own fascists in pursuit of its war.
The latest unit to hit the news is Rusich, a unit affiliated to the infamous mercenaries of Wagner Group. Its name simply means a member of the old Rus’ people, and speaks to its inchoate ideology, a mix of traditional Slavic (and Viking) paganism, Nazism, and extreme Russian nationalism.
Originally drawn largely from neo-Nazis out of the St Petersburg nationalist underground scene, in 2014 Rusich emerged as one of the ‘volunteer battalions’ in rebel-held parts of Ukraine’s Donbas region. Moscow neither created nor controlled Rusich, but nor did it do anything to prevent its emergence: the first months of the Donbas war were essentially ones in which the Russian government was happy to watch and see what happened.

Vladmir Putin’s War of Delusions  (Richard J Evans, New Statesman)
The Russian president is a prisoner of his own deadly misconceptions – and the echoes of Hitler are hard to ignore.