Latest Articles about Middle East
MEDVEDEV’S PLANS FOR MILITARY REARMAMENT
At the end of August President Dmitry Medvedev announced five foreign policy priorities. The first and third points are benign: Russia will "recognize the fundamental principles of international law" and "does not want confrontation with any other country" nor does it intend to isolate itself.... MORE
Shaykh Qaradawi Alarms Egypt with Warning of Shiite Imperialism
In remarks very similar to recent statements from Egyptian al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, a popular Doha-based Egyptian Islamic scholar has accused Iran of being behind a new wave of Shia “imperialism” that threatens the existence of Sunni Islam in Egypt and other Muslim countries. 82-year-old... MORE
Village Guards on the Frontline of Turkey’s War on Terrorism
The Village Guard system is one of the key aspects of Turkish security polices in the nation’s ethnic-Kurdish southeast. In response to the growing power of the Kurdistan Workers Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan - PKK), the state has resorted to increasingly complex and aggressive counterterrorism... MORE
PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE PROPOSES NEW ANTI-EXTREMISM AGENCY
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has called for a new law-enforcement agency to fight extremism, arguing that federal and local authorities have been ineffective in fighting hate crimes. Some human rights experts, however, have expressed concern that such a body could be used against critics... MORE
CHUBAIS REPORTEDLY BEHIND KREMLIN BID TO TAKE OVER SPS
Nikita Belykh, the leader of the Union of Right Forces (SPS), announced on September 26 that he was resigning over proposals by top party leaders to cooperate with the Kremlin. According to a number of observers, Belykh’s resignation is part of an effort being led... MORE
RUSSIA FAVORS STRONGER REGULATION TO TACKLE MARKET VOLATILITY
The Kremlin moved to employ strong regulatory methods to deal with this month's market turmoil. Russian officials have also tended to cite spreading fallout from the American credit crisis as a major reason for market volatility. The financial authorities reacted promptly, and the measures they... MORE
RUSSIAN NAVY DEPLOYMENTS APPARENTLY INTENDED TO ANNOY U.S.
While most military analysts observing last month’s confrontation between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia tended to focus on the ground clashes, the naval significance of the encounter has spread far beyond Georgia’s waters. The U.S. Navy dispatched relief to Georgia on warships... MORE
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