Latest Articles about Middle East
Between Baghdad and Ankara: The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Delicate Balance
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has maintained a cautiously optimistic but delicate balance to secure its existence amidst perilous surroundings. The first and most immediate dimension of this balancing act is the KRG’s precarious relationship with the... MORE
The Growing Separatist Threat in Yemen’s Hadramawt Governorate
Hadramawt, located in eastern Yemen, is the country's largest governorate. While the Hadramawt is a vast province that encompasses roughly 38,000 square miles, it is thinly populated with less than a million inhabitants. Continued stability in the governorate is critical because of the vital oil... MORE
Gama’a Islamiya Addresses the Role of Copts in Modern Egypt as al-Qaeda Uses the Coptic Issue to Justify Baghdad Church Attack
The al-Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) has released a statement claiming the October 31 hostage-taking at Baghdad’s Sayidat al-Nejat (Our Lady of Salvation) Syriac Catholic Church was carried out in order to free two Egyptian Coptic women they allege are being held prisoner... MORE
Split in the Islamic Army of Iraq over Post-Occupation Strategy
Only a few days after the U.S. army ended its combat mission in Iraq came the declaration of a split within one of the most prominent insurgent groups, al-Jaysh al-Islami fi’l-Iraq (Islamic Army in Iraq - IAI). A group of IAI field fighters, calling themselves... MORE
A Portrait of Shaykh Akram al-Kabi: Leader of Iraq’s League of the Righteous and Challenger to the Sadrist Line
The term “special groups” has been used by coalition forces in Iraq since 2006 in reference to splinter groups of Moqtada al-Sadr’s Jaish al-Mahdi (the Mahdi Army – JaM). These groups were accused of being controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and not following the... MORE
Abu Okash al-Iraqi: AQ’s Arab Broker in North Waziristan
The North Waziristan Agency (NWA) became a vortex of foreign and local militants after they fled Afghanistan, following the post-9/11 invasion of the country led by the U.S. coalition and took refuge in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. These foreign militant groups... MORE
Turkmenistan Seeks Expanded Cooperation with Qatar
On October 11, Turkmen President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, visited Qatar and met with the country’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Khamad al-Tani, concluding a series of agreements in the energy, trade, and economic sphere (ITAR-TASS, October 11). The visit marks intensified efforts by Turkmenistan to diversify its... MORE
Despite Arms Sales Accord with Israel, Russia Sells Anti-Ship Missiles to Syria
Russia may have refused to sell the S-300 missile to Iran, but it is hardly refraining from selling weapons to its traditional Middle Eastern friends. Despite its recent agreement to buy drones and other military equipment from Israel and a strong Israeli and US diplomatic... MORE
Can Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maintain its Operational Capability in a Sanctions Regime?
The lasting impact of the latest round of sanctions slapped on Iran in June by the United Nations Security Council followed by an additional and more stringent unilateral sanctions regime levied by the United States – the chief proponent of sanctions – and the European... MORE
Russia Procures Western Technology, While Struggling to Manufacture Modern Weapons
The Chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, Viktor Zavarzin, disclosed last week some details of previously secret future defense budget procurement plans. Procurement expenditure on new weapons will grow dramatically from 380 billion rubles ($12.7 billion) in 2010 to 980 billion rubles ($32.7 billion) in... MORE