Latest Articles about Middle East
ANALYSTS AND ORDINARY CITIZENS PREDICT SHIFT OF POWER FROM RUSSIAN PRESIDENT TO PRIME MINISTER
In a poll by the independent Levada Center among 1,600 Russians conducted over February 22-25, 61% of the respondents said they agreed with the view that despite Dmitry Medvedev’s victory in the March 2 presidential election (which was a foregone conclusion even a week or... MORE
A Military Analysis of Turkey’s Incursion into Northern Iraq
The recently concluded eight-day Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq marks the beginning of a new phase in Turkey’s nearly 24 year-old struggle against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Despite the Turkish military’s claims to have inflicted high casualties and severe damage to the PKK’s... MORE
Looking to the Levant: Internationalizing the Iraqi Insurgency
A number of Iraqi insurgents are increasingly turning their guns outward—rhetorically at least—toward the Levant (Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon) in general and Israel in particular. It is no secret that Osama bin Laden has renewed calls for the destruction of Israel... MORE
GAZPROM’S SOUTH STREAM PROJECT CAN BE HALTED IN THE BLACK SEA
Gazprom and the Kremlin have lined up Central Asian gas commitments upstream and European Union markets downstream for the South Stream pipeline project. Russia’s project seems to enjoy an unstoppable momentum against its rival Nabucco and other Western-backed projects for Caspian gas to Europe. Nevertheless,... MORE
RUSSIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OFFER THE WEST CHANCE TO GET BACK TO BUSINESS
The March 2 election of Dmitry Medvedev to replace Russian President Vladimir Putin was as crooked as any election in Soviet times. The dull campaign and the inevitable result generated mass annoyance in the Russian public. This in turn led to an extremely low actual... MORE
Turkish Recognition of Kosova Risks New Terrorist Attacks
Turkey’s international relationships are increasingly fraught with the danger of revenge-type attacks by a variety of opponents in numerous locations around the world. The most recent example—one that is already prompting anti-Turkish violence—is the Turkish decision to join France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and the... MORE
TOP YELTSIN-ERA FIGURE REPORTEDLY ON MEDVEDEV’S LIST OF POTENTIAL APPOINTEES
Vedomosti reported on March 4 that Russia’s president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, held a victory gathering at his campaign headquarters on the evening of March 2 to which both journalists and “associates who helped him win” were invited. According to the newspaper, the latter group consisted of... MORE
WILL PRIME MINISTER PUTIN SERVE AT THE PLEASURE OF PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV?
As of 10 am, Moscow time, on March 3, Russia’s Central Election Commission was reporting that with more than 99% of the votes in the March 2 presidential election counted, President Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, won 70.23% of the vote. That means 51,938,974... MORE
PUTIN’S PLAN PROGRESSES, BUT THE MEANING OF MEDVEDEV REMAINS OBSCURE
Elections are supposed to focus on the question of who wins, but Russia makes an exception: President Vladimir Putin’s re-election in early 2004 had no suspense at all. But with the electoral exercise that took place yesterday, March 2, the question was not about “Who?”... MORE
Mergers and Acquisitions within the Iraqi Insurgency
For the U.S. military, 2007 was the year of the surge in Iraq. The controversial troop increase—along with the rise of the Sunni Awakening councils and Moqtada al-Sadr’s truce—has combined to help tame both sectarian and insurgent violence. As for the insurgents, 2007 was a... MORE