Latest Articles about Middle East
RUSSIAN ADMIRAL ANNOUNCES AMBITIOUS NAVAL BUILD-UP
President Vladimir Putin appointed Admiral Vladimir Masorin commander of the Russian Navy in 2005. This year Masorin will turn 60 and, under Russian law, he must retire from active service. However, top generals and admirals may continue to serve in high command positions until age... MORE
RUSSIAN FLAG STAKES ENERGY CLAIM AT NORTH POLE
Russia made big international waves last week with a successful Arctic expedition that combined scientific and geopolitical goals. The research ship Akademik Fedorov and the nuclear icebreaker Arktika left Murmansk on July 24 and on August 2 reached their destination – the North Pole, now... MORE
RUSSIA’S BLACK SEA FLEET PLANS FORCE BUILD-UP AT NOVOROSSIYSK
Admiral Vladimir Masorin, commander-in-chief of Russia’s naval forces, announced ambitious plans to expand the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s forces and missions during his just-completed visit to the fleet’s main base at Sevastopol in Ukraine. The plans focus on developing Novorossiysk as a major naval base... MORE
RUSSIA’S BLACK SEA FLEET CLINGING TO SEVASTOPOL WHILE IT CAN
Apparently expecting petrodollar-fed budgetary infusions, Russia’s navy expects to reinforce its Black Sea Fleet with new units, beef up its Novorossiysk base on Russian territory, and attempt to cling to the Sevastopol base in Ukraine past the 2017 deadline. Such is the gist of remarks... MORE
Behind the Indoctrination and Training of American Jihadis
On July 26, a former Washington, DC cab driver and resident of Gwynn Oak, Maryland was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for providing material support to a terrorist group. Ohio-born Mahmud Faruq Brent, 32, admitted to attending training camps run by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT,... MORE
Iran’s Challenges from Within: An Overview of Ethno-Sectarian Unrest
Iran continues to face international pressure over its nuclear program and heightening tensions with the United States regarding its role in Iraq and Afghanistan. A pillar of U.S. strategy in the Middle East after the fall of the shah has been to check Iranian power... MORE
KREMLIN SABER RATTLING INCREASES AHEAD OF SCO SUMMIT
Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin, while meeting activists and leaders of pro-Kremlin youth movements, used rather bizarre language to describe Russia's standoff with Great Britain over the murder of former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London last November. According to the official Kremlin website, Putin... MORE
RUSSIA’S GAS PIPELINE NETWORK FACES REALITY CHECK
In recent weeks Russia has announced a number of high-profile export-oriented gas pipeline projects, notably the Europe-bound Nord Stream and South Stream, the China-bound Altai route, and the Caspian pipeline in Central Asia. However, all these pipelines will be connected with the existing Gazprom pipeline... MORE
Abu Yahya al-Libi: Al-Qaeda’s Theological Enforcer – Part 1
In the rising generation of post-9/11 al-Qaeda leaders, Abu Yahya al-Libi seems to be assuming the unique position of insurgent-theologian. Since escaping from U.S. detention at Bagram air base in Afghanistan in July 2005—with three other al-Qaeda fighters, one of whom, Faruq al-Iraqi, has since... MORE
The Many Faces of the PKK
Kurdish guerrillas have fought Turkish forces for almost a quarter of a century. Focusing attention solely on the approximately 5,500 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters, however, obscures the full dimension of the problems and threats faced by Turkey (Today's Zaman, June 28). An examination of... MORE