Latest Articles about Middle East
PUTIN PACKS HIS BAGS BUT MEDVEDEV STILL BIDES HIS TIME
Russia has effectively closed down for the long holidays as the Orthodox Easter comes close to May Day, which opens the traditional week of dacha spring works to be concluded by the always high-spirited celebrations of Victory Day. Coming back to business after this break,... MORE
RUSSIA AND ITS ALLIES CONDUCT EURASIAN AIR DEFENSE DRILL
NATO’s eastwards expansion plan, articulated earlier this month at a summit in Bucharest, has firmed up Kremlin opposition to the alliance’s interest in former Soviet republics, particularly Georgia and the Ukraine, which over the last year has taken the form of military power projections beyond... MORE
Iran and Turkey Move Closer on Counter-Terrorism Cooperation
There are signs that Turkey and Iran intend to increase cooperation in their mutual struggle against militant Kurdish nationalists based in northern Iraq. The Turkish Interior Ministry announced in a statement on April 17 that “ Turkish and Iranian officials have signed a memorandum of... MORE
ILLARIONOV SAYS PUTIN BROUGHT ABOUT ECONOMIC GROWTH AND AUTOCRACY
Andrei Illarionov has always been something of an anomaly: an economist of a libertarian bent who always stressed the negative impact of state intervention while working as an adviser to several top officials associated with a corporatist or even authoritarian outlook. From 1993 to 1994... MORE
IS PUTIN’S ACCESSION AS UNITED RUSSIA LEADER AN ACT OF DESPERATION?
Observers have had nearly a week to analyze the significance of outgoing President Vladimir Putin’s agreement to serve as leader of the United Russia party, a position in which he will serve concurrently with the post of prime minister, which he is expected to assume... MORE
MOSCOW HAS LITTLE SUCCESS IN EXPANDING ITS ROLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
With the NATO problem deferred and only two weeks to go in the office, President Putin has shifted his attention to a region that is also a major point of U.S. attention--the Middle East. Monitoring the preparations for President George W. Bush's visit to the... MORE
RUSSIA FACES DELAYS IN FAR EASTERN PIPELINE
The Kremlin apparently viewed the Eastern Siberia Pacific Oil Pipeline (ESPO) as a major vehicle to promote faster growth of Russia's Far Eastern regions. However, the major energy project appears to be taking longer than expected. Earlier this month, the first completed 238-kilometer section of... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Palestinian Inroads
When al-Qaeda invited journalists and the people at large to direct questions by internet to al-Qaeda’s second-in-command, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, one of the most frequent questions was: “Why does al-Qaeda not launch operations in Palestine?” Al-Zawahiri responded with an audio message published on al-Sahab, the... MORE
Capabilities and Restraints in Turkey’s Counter-Terrorism Policy
Turkey has long faced a broad range of domestic terrorist threats, ranging from left-wing and Kurdish radicals to violent indigenous Islamist groups and Turkish militants affiliated with or sympathetic to transnational organizations such as al-Qaeda. The country’s geographical location, often porous borders and thriving black... MORE
Police Raids Uncover al-Qaeda’s Parallel World in Turkey
Al-Qaeda is taking roots in Turkey, as indicated by recent police crackdowns and the discovery of a parallel jihadi society in Istanbul. In a two-day operation, Turkish police forces arrested 43 alleged members of al-Qaeda. On April 1, police forces launched four simultaneous raids in... MORE