Latest Articles about Middle East
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
Is al-Qaeda Seeking Allies in Latin America?
U.S. officials have warned of a real danger Islamist extremists could form alliances with wealthy and powerful Latin American drug lords to launch new terrorist attacks against the United States. According to recent remarks made by Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis in the U.S.... MORE
Rumors of Assassination Attempt on Shaykh Nasrallah as Hezbollah Reconciles with Opponents
During the past week a rumor that Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Shaykh Hassan Nasrallah had survived a poisoning attempt quickly spread in both regional and global media. The report was originally disclosed by Iraqi website Almalaf on October 22. According to Almalaf, Hezbollah’s leader was in critical... MORE
RUSSIA, CHINA ESTABLISH STRONGER ECONOMIC TIES
Leaders of Russia and China hailed what they described as a bilateral strategic partnership, while the countries’ state-run energy giants are struggling to work out a compromise on energy prices. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, following a meeting in Moscow with his Chinese counterpart Wen... MORE