Latest Articles about Middle East
“PROTECTION” IN RUSSIA: DIFFERENT PROVIDERS, BUT SAME RACKET
In early 1994, the Analytical Center of the administration of then-President Boris Yeltsin produced a shocking report stating that 70-90% of Russia’s private enterprises and commercial banks in major cities were being forced to pay “tribute” to organized crime groups, totaling 10-20% of their turnover.... MORE
PJAK Faces Turkish-Iranian Storm
The last year has seen steadily increasing violence between Turkey and the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK). On October 21, 2007 a group of PKK fighters killed 12 Turkish soldiers and captured eight others in an attack in southeastern Turkey. Since then Turkey has called on... MORE
MOSCOW FORCING LUFTHANSA TO SWITCH FROM KAZAKHSTAN TO SIBERIAN HUB
Russia’s Transport Ministry has threatened to close Russia’s air space to Lufthansa’s cargo flights to East Asian countries, unless Lufthansa Cargo establishes a Russian ground-based hub for its East Asia business. The Russian ministry warned its German counterpart that Lufthansa Cargo’s overflight authorization could be... MORE
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