Latest Articles about Middle East
KOZAK LEAVES MIXED RECORD AS PUTIN’S ENVOY IN THE RUSSIAN SOUTH
On September 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin reorganized his cabinet. Among the new appointments was Dmitry Kozak, who was named regional development minister. This ministry is tasked with working out the Russian government’s regional policies and monitoring relations between Russian regions and the federal center.... MORE
GIMF Develops Defensive and Offensive Software for Jihadi Operations
In July 2007, jihadi forums announced the creation of a new computer program called the Secrets of the Mujahideen, version 1.0. The objective of the program—which was published and distributed by the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) through many jihadi websites—is to replace the old... MORE
Tracking Yemen’s 23 Escaped Jihadi Operatives – Part 1
In mid-September, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued a stern warning to the Wa'ilah tribe in northern Yemen: turn over the six al-Qaeda suspects you are sheltering or face serious repercussions (al-Wasat, September 12). The six men that Saleh believes have found refuge with the... MORE
SERDYUKOV’S FAKE RESIGNATION
Russia’s new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, announced in Sochi last week that Acting Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov had submitted a letter of resignation to President Vladimir Putin. Zubkov said he had discussed the matter with Serdyukov, who is his son-in-law, and they had decided that... MORE
Assessing the Six Year Hunt for Osama bin Laden
More than six years after the September 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden remains free, healthy and safe enough to produce audio- and videotapes that dominate the international media at the times of his choosing (Terrorism Focus, September 11). Popular and some official attitudes in the... MORE
Reports of PKK Internal Dissension on the Rise
An increasing number of recent reports detail what appear to be the signs of growing stress within the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). First, there are reports of numbers of people leaving the PKK, a sign of a beleaguered organization, not one that is thriving. It... MORE
RUSSIA GETS THE GOVERNMENT THAT WILL EASE PUTIN OUT
It took Russian President Vladimir Putin only a few hours to appoint a new prime minister after sacking the indifferent Mikhail Fradkov, who never was up to the job and never pretended to be. But it took nearly two weeks to form a new Russian... MORE
MOSCOW PROMISES HUGE FUNDS TO DEVELOP FAR EAST, BUT EXISTING PROJECTS SLOW TO MATERIALIZE
The Russian government plans to allocate up to 600 billion rubles ($23.6 billion) to fund development projects in Eastern Siberia and Far East by 2013, Kamil Iskhakov, presidential envoy in the Far East, told the Far Eastern International Economic Forum on September 18. Total investments... MORE
MOSCOW HINTS AT ITS NUISANCE VALUE TO ALLIED OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
Russia abstained in the UN Security Council’s September 20 vote to prolong the mandate of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, a NATO-led operation. This is the first time since 2001 that Russia withheld its approval from an allied operation (U.S.-led Enduring Freedom... MORE
RUSSIAN SECURITY SERVICES KILL DAGESTANI REBEL LEADER
Early on the morning of September 17, specialized detachments from the Russian police and the Federal Security Service (FSB) surrounded a small house in the village of Novy Sulak, located in the Kyzyl-Yurt district of Dagestan. Two armed rebels were inside the house. The troops... MORE