Latest Articles about Middle East
Terror Attacks Against U.S. and British Embassies Thwarted in Azerbaijan
Escalating threats of Islamist violence in Azerbaijan have prompted a massive government crackdown on militants. For over five years, analysts and political scientists in Azerbaijan have warned of the danger of a growing Salafist (“Wahhabi”) influence in the country. Since the beginning of the Second... MORE
Provision to Turkey of U.S. Intelligence on PKK Highlights Policy Shift
The 2007 edition of the annual offensive of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) against Turkey has displayed the group’s adaptability and its tenacity. It has included a multi-front strategy, with both urban terrorist-style attacks in cities such as Istanbul (Terrorism Focus, October 10) and the... MORE
VLADIMIR MILOV: PUTIN TRAPPED IN A FOROS OF HIS OWN MAKING
Russian political analysts and other observers are watching the power struggle inside Russia’s security and law-enforcement establishment. The conflict broke out into the open in early October with the arrest of the head of the operational department of the Federal Narcotics Control Service (FSKN), Lieutenant-General... MORE
ST. PETERSBURG POISONINGS: PART OF SILOVIKI FACTIONAL FIGHT?
An officer with the Federal Narcotics Control Service (FSKN) and a former colleague of his were recently found dead in St. Petersburg, the apparent victims of poisoning. If deliberate poisoning is confirmed, it would suggest that an under-the-carpet battle between rival Russian special services may... MORE
FROM SOVIET “PEACE” FRONTS TO RUSSIAN “HUMAN RIGHTS” ORGANIZATIONS IN EUROPE
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to create an “Institute for Freedom and Democracy in Europe,” with Russian funding. Putin revealed this project during the European Union-Russia summit just held in Mafra, near Lisbon. The Institute is supposed to defend and promote “human rights... MORE
Bin Laden’s Call to Unite Exposes al-Qaeda’s Strategic Blunders
Last week, several jihadi forums released an audio message from Osama bin Laden chastising the Iraqi mujahideen for their failure to unite to defeat their common adversary. Bin Laden’s message elicited mixed reactions from the splintered factions of the Iraqi insurgency, with some echoing bin... MORE
RUSSIA FORCING OSCE OUT OF ELECTION OBSERVATION ROLE
Russia has disabled the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe from observing Russia’s parliamentary elections. Ahead of the December 2 vote, the OSCE has yet to be admitted to Russia to observe the electoral campaign. And when the observation mission will finally be allowed... MORE
MOSCOW MAY DISPATCH FIREBRAND NATIONALIST TO NATO
The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the outspoken, anti-Western Dmitry Rogozin is about to be appointed to an important diplomatic position, and “This may be the post of permanent representative to NATO” (RIA-Novosti, Reuters, October 24). The current Russian representative at NATO headquarters, General... MORE
Tactical and Strategic Problems of a Turkish Winter Campaign in Northern Iraq
As Turkish troops mass along the border with Kurdish northern Iraq, chief of the Turkish General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit has promised to make the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) “grieve with an intensity they cannot imagine” (AP, October 27). While an attack... MORE
PUTIN COMPARES U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE TO CUBAN CRISIS
Expectations before the regular meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the EU leadership had set a new record low, and the summit in Mafra, Portugal, last Friday, October 26, generally lived up to them. The top priority for the Portuguese EU presidency has been... MORE