Latest Articles about Middle East
The Neo-Zarqawists: Divisions Emerge between Jordan’s Salafist Militants
On October 27 an open letter signed by a number of prominent Jordanian Salafists and warning of a new zealot takfiri group in Jordan circulated on jihadist web-forums (alhesbahweb.net, October 27; muslm.net, October 27). Following the takfiri practice of condemning fellow Muslims as apostates or... MORE
China’s Policy Toward Iran: Arms for Oil?
Major powers deliberated on September 19 in Washington over a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran to curb its nuclear program, but deliberations ended with no firm commitments amid Chinese and Russian opposition to stronger punitive measures. State Department spokesman Robert Wood told the... MORE
Coalition Attack Brings an End to the Career of al-Qaeda in Iraq’s Second-in-Command
The U.S. military scored one of its biggest tactical successes against al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) on October 5 by killing Abu Qaswarah, a man identified by both the U.S. military and the rebel Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) as the organization’s commander for Northern Iraq.... MORE
Iran’s Kurdish Militants Under Pressure from Joint Turkish-Iranian Assaults
Until recently, the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan (Parti Jiyani Azadi Kurdistan – PJAK), an armed Kurdish separatist group active in Iran, was beginning to emerge as a genuine military irritant to Iran’s government, killing in excess of 100 Iranian security forces per year... MORE
Latin American Narco-Dollars Financing Hezbollah’s Growing Establishment
On October 23, U.S. and Colombian law enforcement agencies announced the break-up of a drug-trafficking ring that channelled part of its profits to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The gang was reportedly involved in distributing cocaine from cartels in Colombia to markets in the United States, Europe... MORE
Persuading the Uncertain and Punishing the Recalcitrant: Al-Qaeda Seeks to Absorb Iraq’s Awakening Councils
There are indications that al-Qaeda’s struggle with Iraq’s U.S.-sponsored tribal Awakening Councils is far from over. An attack on the Baquba home of Awakening Council militia leader Shaykh Abdul Karim Hassan al-Dahlaji on October 29 left three family members dead and 14 others injured. A... MORE
A Mujahideen Bleed-Through From Iraq? Part Two – A Look at Lebanon
Lebanon always has been a country whose people are more loyal to family, clan, tribe, and faith than to the concept of Lebanon as a united nation-state. Since 2003, this existing internal divisiveness has been sharpened by the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq and... MORE
EU’S French Presidency Rushes Partnership Talks with Moscow
In St. Petersburg on October 28 French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner gave the green light for a quick resumption of EU-Russian negotiations on a new partnership agreement. Kouchner spoke on behalf of the European Union’s French presidency and was flanked in St. Petersburg... MORE
FRANCE READY TO LEAP ON THE SOUTH STREAM BANDWAGON
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner said on October 28 that France, the current holder of the EU presidency, was interested in both the Nabucco and South Stream gas projects and was willing to join either. Kouchner suggested, moreover, that Russia be included in... MORE
Destruction of Turkish Outpost by PKK Leads to Counterterrorism Reforms
Click Here for a Interactive Map The PKK’s October 3 attack on the Aktutun military outpost sparked a controversy over whether Turkish counterterrorism strategy is on the right track. In its three decades old battle against the PKK, the Aktutun attack marked the first time... MORE