Latest Articles about Middle East
THE POST-WAR TRAJECTORY OF RUSSIA-EU NON-PARTNERSHIP
Very few features of the “five-day war” between Russia and Georgia testify to the proposition that common political sense prevailed over military opportunism: Russian tanks stopped outside Tbilisi; the Russian Navy did not try to blockade Batumi; and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was left undamaged. The... MORE
Responsibility for Bombings in Western Turkey Disputed by PKK and the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons
Two terrorist attacks committed in Turkish port cities in only three days, one in Mersin (on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey) on August 19 and the second in Izmir (formerly known as Smyrna, on the Aegean Sea) on August 21, have highlighted the difficulty... MORE
SUMMIT TESTS EU’S CAPACITY TO OPPOSE RUSSIA’S REEXPANSION
European Union leaders will meet on September 1 in Brussels for a crisis summit in response to Russia’s war on Georgia. If allowed to succeed, the subjugation of Georgia will almost certainly be followed by steps to bring Ukraine and Moldova within a Russian sphere... MORE
RUSSIA IS READY FOR A MAJOR CONFRONTATION WITH THE WEST
A well-orchestrated surge of nationalistic pride seems to be driving Russia into a major confrontation with the West over the invasion of Georgia. The Russian media is full of brutal abuse, aimed at opponents of the invasion. State-sponsored propaganda has implied that the West is... MORE
Terrorism and Piracy: The Dual Threat to Maritime Shipping
In the global war on terror, international attention has largely been focused on terrestrial operations, but the sea remains a fertile ground for attack. As in many terror attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq, the favored tool of maritime terrorists is the suicide bomber, piloting a... MORE
ARE PUTIN AND MEDVEDEV AT ODDS OVER THE GEORGIAN CAMPAIGN?
With President Dmitry Medvedev having ordered a halt to Russia’s military assault on Georgia and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili agreeing to the general principles of a cease-fire plan negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian observers have begun assessing the results and impact of the... MORE
Technological Innovation and the Turkish Armed Forces’ War on the PKK
How does the introduction of new technologies affect the search for alternatives in counter-terrorism operations? To answer this question, we examine the changing characteristics of terror attacks carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since 2004 and the means employed by the Turkish Armed... MORE
PKK Tactics May Reveal Damage Caused by Turkish Military Campaign
The fighting between Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) has intensified in recent months. Turkish air raids on the PKK camps in northern Iraq have resumed since mid-July. Between July 10 to July 16, 36 PKK members were killed, and there were... MORE
RUSSIAN “TANDEMOCRACY” STUMBLES INTO A WAR
Moscow was disconcertingly taken by surprise with the sharp escalation of hostilities in South Ossetia last Friday. The most apparent part of the problem was the lack of leadership, as President Dmitry Medvedev departed to a Volga resort and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went to... MORE
SOME ANALYSTS SAY RUSSIA’S SILOVIKI BENEFIT FROM A WAR WITH GEORGIA
Not surprisingly, criticism in the Russian media of Russia’s military actions in South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia, to the degree that there has been any criticism at all, has been muted. Clearly, this is partly due to the fact that the lion’s share... MORE