Latest Articles about Middle East
WILL MORE MONEY HELP BUY MORE MODERN WEAPONS?
The 27,000-strong Georgian military is a 40th the size of the Russian military of over one million. Only several thousand solders from each side were directly involved in the war last month, which lasted three days before the Georgian forces were ordered to withdraw. Russia... MORE
COLLAPSE OF RUSSIAN STOCKS: RESULT OF THE GLOBAL MALAISE, OR SOMETHING MORE?
With the U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsing and the U.S. government bailing out insurance giant AIG, Russia’s stock markets continued their steep fall on September 17 after recording record losses the previous day. The ruble-denominated MICEX fell by 17.5 percent and the dollar-denominated RTS... MORE
RUSSO-GEORGIAN WAR CREATES SECURITY DILEMMA FOR IRAN
Although the Georgian-Russian military conflict and its still uncertain aftermath may have produced no considerable change in Iran’s foreign policy, the projection of Russian power has created a new security dilemma for the Islamic Republic. Iranians certainly hope that the crisis will open new diplomatic... MORE
LEADING POLITICAL SCIENTIST ADMINISTERS LAST RITES TO REFORM HOPES
Has the conflict between Russia and Georgia jeopardized hopes that Russia can pursue a path of economic modernization based on “innovation,” as both President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have promised? That view was put forward by political scientist Lilia Shevtsova, of the... MORE
RUSSIA EYES “TRANSIT SUPERPOWER” STATUS
Despite continuing disagreements with the West, Russia's top officials have pledged to turn the Eurasian nation into a "transit superpower" to link Europe and Asia by developing transcontinental railways and encouraging infrastructure development projects. New transportation infrastructure projects would allow Russia to emerge as a... MORE
RUSSIA AND OPEC–A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE OR SOMETHING WORSE?
While most American analysts are concentrating on Hurricane Ike and its potentially destructive path through the Gulf of Mexico with its offshore platforms and coastal refineries, other are fascinated by OPEC’s recent 149th meeting in Vienna on September 9 and 10, which was attended by... MORE
MOSCOW EXTENDS CONFRONTATION WITH THE WEST TO THE CARIBBEAN
The Defense Ministry in Moscow announced this week that warships and long-range bombers would be deployed to the Caribbean for joint military exercises with Venezuela in November. Russia's most powerful warship, the nuclear cruiser Pyotr Velikii, will lead the flotilla, accompanied by a frigate Admiral... MORE
RUSSIA’S CENTRAL ASIAN EXERCISES WITH KAZAKHSTAN FOCUS ON DEFENDING ENERGY ASSETS
On September 4 joint Russian-Kazakh military exercises began at the Chebarkul training range near Chelyabinsk, Russia. The exercises, long planned in the framework of the deepening military cooperation between the two countries, involved around 2,000 servicemen, more than 100 units of armored vehicles, and 30... MORE
Is the PKK Seeking New Bases in the Turkish Interior?
As of August 2008, it appears that operations of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan – PKK) have shifted toward a strip of Turkish territory crossing through Tunceli, Bingol, Mus, and Bitlis provinces, a region where the PKK previously conducted limited activities. The following... MORE
MEDVEDEV RESTRUCTURES THE INTERIOR MINISTRY
President Dmitry Medvedev has launched a reorganization of Russia’s Interior Ministry that some observers say raises it in importance above the country’s other “power” agencies and ministries and could presage a stepped-up campaign against the Kremlin’s critics and political opponents under the guise of fighting... MORE