Latest Articles about Middle East
PKK Kidnappings an Isolated Initiative or a New European Strategy?
The seizure in eastern Turkey on July 8 of three German mountaineers by a unit of the People’s Defense Force (HPG), the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), was the first time in more than a decade that the organization had kidnapped Western... MORE
RUSSIAN OFFICIALS AND CHAVEZ TALK OF MILITARY BASES IN THE CARIBBEAN
Moscow officials hinted through the media on July 21 that Russian Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers, armed with nuclear-tipped long-range X-55 cruise missiles, may be deployed on Cuba, as an asymmetric response to the planned US deployments of missile defense systems in Europe. The bombers... MORE
Was Alleged al-Qaeda Attack a Failed Attempt to Occupy the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul?
The July 9 attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul refocused international attention on al-Qaeda’s Turkish branch. Three attackers and three police officers died in the ensuing gun battle. Unlike al-Qaeda’s trademark bomb attacks, this assault took the form of a gun battle. If it... MORE
Moroccan Crackdown on Salafiya Jihadiya Recruitment of Fighters for Iraq
For the third time this year, Morocco has announced the dismantling of a terrorist group. The latest operation occurred only a few months after the complex Belliraj affair in February and the arrest of a cell in May suspected of plotting attacks in Morocco and... MORE
ECONOMIC REFORM ICON AND OPPOSITION LEADER DEBATE THE 1990s
On June 30, Anatoly Chubais stepped down as board chairman of the state electricity monopoly RAO UES, which was liquidated the following day as part of a reform of Russia’s power industry. Chubais said that he plans to retire; and if he sticks to that... MORE
MEDVEDEV’S FOREIGN POLICY TAKES INDEFINITE SHAPE
President Dmitry Medvedev, after completely ignoring foreign policy issues on the election trail, has performed a high-intensity campaign of visits, speeches and meetings since late May, wrapping up this season last week with the adoption of a new Foreign Policy Concept. Sycophants are trumpeting the... MORE
PAVEL VOSHCHANOV: DISSATISFACTION ON THE RISE IN PROVINCIAL RUSSIA
It is often said in Russia that dissatisfaction with the country’s existing political system is greater among those living in the cities than those living in the countryside. Yet according to one observer who recently traveled through central Russia, dissatisfaction with the status quo is... MORE
SAUDI-RUSSIAN MILITARY COOPERATION
A simple, one-sentence Russian language news item published by Russia's Interfax on July 14 seemingly signals yet another tectonic shift in the Middle East's volatile mixture of oil, religion and weaponry. The item read, "An agreement about military-technical collaboration (VTS) between Russia and Saudi Arabia... MORE
RUSSIA IS STRONGER AND MORE AGGRESSIVE
This week President Dmitry Medvedev addressed a meeting of senior Foreign Ministry officials and ambassadors summoned worldwide to unveil a revised foreign policy concept. President Vladimir Putin signed the previous concept into law in June 2000. Medvedev's new concept is definitely more aggressive and anti-Western.... MORE
MEDVEDEV PRESENTS A GRAND DESIGN FOR FOREIGN POLICY
There were hardly any leaks about the preparation of a new Foreign Policy Concept in the Kremlin and certainly no debates on the drafts, so President Dmitry Medvedev achieved a complete surprise unveiling this key document at the special meeting with Russian ambassadors this week... MORE