Latest Articles about Middle East
Al-Qaeda’s Golden Opportunity to Deal a Devastating Blow to the United States
When Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States in al-Qaeda’s name in the late summer of 1996, he outlined ambitious worldwide Islamist goals, but noted that al-Qaeda could not accomplish them on its own. He said that al-Qaeda could, at best, serve as... MORE
RUSSIA NEUTERING THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE AFTER INVASION OF GEORGIA
The Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), which opens its autumn session in Strasbourg on September 29, can hardly afford to ignore Russia’s invasion of Georgia and its consequences. A motion is pending at PACE to “reconsider the Russian delegation’s credentials, on grounds of serious... MORE
RUSSIA’S GLOBAL WAR GAMES
This week the Russian armed forces began month-long strategic military exercises called Stability 2008. According to the Defense Ministry, the scenario suggests "a worsening of the situation and an escalation of crisis situations into military confrontation" (www.mil.ru, September 20). The composition of the forces and... MORE
Hamas Arrests Pro-al-Qaeda Leader of Jaysh al-Umma in Gaza
In a deserted area of southern Gaza, the recently formed Jaysh al-Ummah (The Army of the Nation - JAU) organized its first public training session on September 1. The local Reuters video crew was given access to record the training of this little-known armed group.... MORE
Turkey Planning to Eliminate Kurdish PKK Insurgents in the Coming Year
Turkey’s leading politicians and security officials gathered at the Prime Minister’s residence on September 11 to discuss approaches for Turkey’s ongoing struggle against the Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan – PKK). Despite a long summer of small-scale attacks on Turkish security forces in predominantly... MORE
GERMAN VESTED INTERESTS RANKLED BY U.S. VIEW ON EUROPEAN ENERGY SECURITY
According to German media reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Berlin has protested to the U.S. Embassy over an op-ed article by the U.S. Ambassador in Sweden, who criticized the Russo-German Nord Stream gas pipeline project on the Baltic seabed and other aspects... MORE
NEW REPORTS UNDERSCORE DOUBTS ABOUT MEDVEDEV’S ANTI-CORRUPTION PLAN
Transparency International has assessed corruption in Russia as being at its highest level in eight years. The Berlin-based international watchdog group ranked Russia in 147th place out of 180 countries in its annual Corruption Perception Index, which is based on polls taken among experts and... MORE
Reassessing the Transnational Terrorism-Criminal Link in South America’s Tri-Border Area
The international terrorist presence in Latin America is concentrated in several "hotspots" where terrorist organizations have found financial and logistic support, as well as a supporting base. Among these areas are Venezuela and its Margarita Island, Trinidad and Tobago, the Iquique area in Chile, and... MORE
Energy Security and the PKK Threat to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline
In the wake of the conflict in Georgia, the future of energy transportation from the Caspian basin and Central Asia to world markets is once again on the agenda. By looking at the attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline... MORE
POLL SHOWS ELITE SUPPORT THE RULE OF LAW AND HONEST COMPETITION
A poll conducted earlier this year found that the country’s professional classes are less than fully supportive of its current ruling political-economic system and want the system democratized and opened up. The man in charge of the research, Mikhail Afanasyev, director for strategies and analysis... MORE