
Latest Articles about Middle East

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s Growing War with North Yemen’s Houthist Movement
Relations between the Zaydi Shi’a Houthi rebels in Yemen and al-Qaeda have never been friendly, despite government claims to the contrary. The two movements have not yet had direct confrontation, focusing rather on their own conflicts with the Yemeni government. However, two al-Qaeda-claimed attacks in... MORE

The Tribes of Yemen: An Asset or Impediment to Stability? Part One
“The tribes are Yemen and Yemen is the tribes,” is a saying that is often repeated by Yemenis from the north central highlands where the tribe and tribal life are most dominant. [1] In the wake of the “underwear bomber” and the “toner bombs,” Yemen... MORE

The Role of Egyptian Militants in Developing al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
The role of Egyptian Islamists in creating al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) can be traced back to the efforts of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) organization to overthrow the Egyptian regime in the 1990s. Al-Zawahiri played no direct role in... MORE

The Return of Ali Salim al-Beidh: The Leader of Yemen’s Southern Secessionist Movement
In May 2009, Ali Salim al-Beidh officially reentered Yemeni politics with a speech addressed to his former constituents in southern Yemen. In the speech, al-Beidh called on southern Yemenis to continue their struggle against what he calls the military occupation of the south by the... MORE

Straddling the New Ba’athist Divide: Iraq’s Ghazwan al-Kubeisi
The execution of Saddam Hussein on December 30, 2006, led to the cleaving of his Ba’ath party over the question of succession. At that time, the party which had ruled Iraq for 35 years and had hundreds of thousands in its membership was significantly degraded.... MORE

Saudi Arabia’s Jihadi Jailbird: A Portrait of al-Shu’aybi Ideologue Nasir al-Fahd
In the mid-1990s, Saudi authorities clamped down on the relatively centrist Islamist opposition led by two prominent shaykhs at the helm of the al-Sahwa (awakening) movement named Salman al-Ouda and Safar al-Hawali. The crackdown on al-Ouda and al-Hawali resulted in a gap in the religious... MORE

China Expands Naval Presence through Jeddah Port Call
China’s naval presence on the global stage is expanding. While counter-piracy and escort operations in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea have significantly contributed to the Chinese navy's growing profile, foreign port visits by its naval vessels to the Gulf region are emerging as... MORE

Abdullah Azzam Brigades Claim to be Defenders of Sunnis in Lebanon
The Saudi leader of a Lebanese militant group has urged Sunni Muslims to refuse cooperation with institutions of the Lebanese state, which he claims are infiltrated and dominated by the Shiite Hezbollah movement. The criticism of Lebanon’s security structure was contained in a November 24... MORE

Turkish-Israeli Normalization Efforts Seek a Fresh Start
Turkey’s recent humanitarian aid to Israel renewed the debate on how to normalize Turkish-Israeli relations, which have been in limbo since the flotilla incident in May 2010. Turkey has argued that Israel should acknowledge full responsibility for its raid on the humanitarian aid flotilla, which... MORE

Moscow Aims for Caspian Settlement in 2011
The Caspian littoral states have pledged to resolve their differences in 2011, but they still appear to remain divided on a variety of sensitive issues. Caspian summits will become an annual event, Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, announced on November 18 in Baku. “We decided to... MORE