Latest Articles about Middle East
The Day After: Iran’s Quiet Taliban Diplomacy Reflects Preparations for a Post-U.S. Afghanistan
In many respects, the ascendance of Hassan Rouhani to the Iranian presidency has raised optimism for the prospects of a limited rapprochement between the United States and Iran. This is the case even as the United States and Iran stand diametrically opposed on a host... MORE
Iran’s New Flexibility Exposes Russia’s Arrogance and Irrelevance
The nearly achieved breakthrough in the six-party talks in Geneva, which are focused on the Iranian nuclear program, caught Moscow by surprise and signified a serious setback for Russia’s foreign policy. President Vladimir Putin tends to believe that he is, indeed, the most influential statesman... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Influential Online Strategist: Abu Sa’d al-Amili
Though the writings of online jihadist strategists are readily available, analysts have struggled with what use to make of them due to the secrecy that surrounds these writers. Are jihadists in the field likely to heed their advice? Or are these men keyboard warriors blowing... MORE
New Details on the Life of Iraq’s Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
An anonymous user posted a short biography of Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) Amir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on the jihadi forum Ansar al-Mujahideen on July 21, 2013. [1] An extended version of the biography appeared on another jihadi website one month later, this... MORE
A Sketch of Lebanon’s Shaykh Bilal al-Masri: An Important Leader in Tripoli’s Salafist Community
Shaykh Bilal al-Masri is an increasingly important leader within Tripoli’s Salafist community. Born and raised on Syria Street, the thoroughfare that is the front-line between the impoverished and restive northern Tripoli neighborhoods of Sunni-majority Bab al-Tabbaneh and Alawite-majority Jebel Mohsen, Shaykh Bilal has emerged as... MORE
A Profile of Former Syrian Defense Minister: Ali Habib – The SNC’s Alawite Defector
Former Syrian Defense Minister General Ali Habib defected from the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on September 4 and turned himself over to the rebel backed Syrian National Coalition (SNC) along the Turkish-Syrian border (al-Sharq al-Awsat [London], September 5). General Habib (a.k.a. Ali Habib... MORE
Afghan and Syrian Links to Central Asian Jihadism
Since September 2013, Central Asian jihadists, including returnees from Syria, have attempted to carry out high-profile attacks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Other Central Asian jihadists in Syria have increasingly publicized their activities with al-Qaeda in Iraq and al-Sham (Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean). As the... MORE
Snapshots of Abd al-Hamid Hajj Darwish and Abdulhakim Bashar: The KDP and PUK’s Kurdish Proxy Leaders in Syria
The Syrian government has routinely harassed, repressed and discriminated against the Syrian Kurds for decades. Since the Arab Spring arrived in Syria, the country’s government forces have abandoned many Kurdish populated areas, allowing the Syrian Kurds to fill the power vacuum in those areas. Most... MORE
War in Syria Has Reverberations in the North Caucasus
On September 20, the first deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergei Smirnov estimated that 300-400 Russian citizens are participating in the conflict in Syria. “They will come back and that, naturally, is posing a serious danger,” the Russian security official said in... MORE
Hundreds of North Caucasians Have Joined the Ranks of Syria’s Rebels
Following Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem’s September 9 visit to Moscow at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (https://kommersant.ru/doc/2275019), the issue of the involvement of Chechens in the Syrian war once again came to the fore.At a press conference, Muallem insisted that his... MORE