Three mortars were fired at an American base in eastern Baghdad on June 6, killing five U.S. soldiers. The incident represented the single most deadly attack on U.S. forces since 2009. A week later, two additional U.S. soldiers were killed in southern Iraq. In recent... MORE

Recent years have witnessed an increase in Iranian activity in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon and Gaza. These activities have had military, political, economic, and religious effects in the region. This article will present the Gaza Strip as an example of Shiite Iran’s increased... MORE

Iran’s embattled President Mahmuod Ahmadinejad has caused a stir by his last-minute cancellation of a visit to Armenia that was intended to highlight and cement close ties between the two neighboring states. The unexpected move rekindled speculation in Yerevan about Tehran’s unease over a resolution... MORE

Since the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, was killed on May 2, much analysis has appeared speculating potential changes to the organization and its leadership. This article aims to answer the basic question of in which direction core al-Qaeda (based along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border)... MORE

A diplomatic staffer of the Saudi Consulate in Karachi, Hassan al-Qahtani, was killed by unknown gunmen riding two motorcycles in Karachi on May 16 (Dawn [Karachi], May 16). A few days earlier, unidentified assailants had thrown Russian-made HE-36 hand grenades at the Saudi Consulate in... MORE

Following the bombing of a mosque located within the walls of the Presidential Palace on June 3, Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, along with five other ranking government officials who were also injured, was flown to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh for surgery. [1]... MORE

Amidst the ongoing violence in Syria, opposition groups gathered in the Turkish Mediterranean resort town Antalya to discuss the future of their struggle against the regime. Although the choice of Turkey as the venue prompted speculation that Ankara might change its position on Syria, Turkish... MORE

As the momentum of opposition demonstrations targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gains in the face of an increasingly violent crackdown by the state, questions are emerging as to the survivability of a regime widely considered to be among the most autocratic in the region.  Like... MORE

Egypt’s Salafist movement has made good use of the liberties won in the January 25 Egyptian Revolution, despite its small role in the demonstrations that deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian Salafists held conferences countrywide to determine their course in an uncertain future. [1]... MORE

Background While international attention is currently focused on anti-government protests and factional fighting in Yemen, since 2007 south Yemen has been the scene of large and often efficiently organized anti-government demonstrations. The Yemenis involved in the protests, strikes and sit-ins in south Yemen are demonstrating... MORE