Latest Articles about Middle East
SHORTFALLS IN RUSSIAN OIL DELIVERIES TO GERMANY
Russian oil deliveries to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline fell abruptly in the month of August by some 30%. Lukoil is mainly responsible for the deliberate reduction in supplies that had been pre-contracted. Supply shortfalls had begun in July on a small scale, before the... MORE
Extremist Reeducation and Rehabilitation in Saudi Arabia
For the past three years, the Saudi government has been quietly engaged in an ambitious strategy to combat violent Islamist extremist sympathies through an innovative prisoner reeducation and rehabilitation program. Following the May 2003 Riyadh compound bombings, the regime adopted a series of security measures... MORE
MORE PROBLEMS FOR RUSSO-GERMAN GAS PIPELINE PROJECT
Gazprom’s corporate report for the second quarter of 2007, released on August 14, officially puts the cost of building the Russo-German gas pipeline on the Baltic seabed, known as Nord Stream, at €6 billion (Interfax, August 14). This means a 50% increase over the €4... MORE
MOSCOW BLAMES TERRORISTS FOR TRAIN DERAILMENT
On Monday, August 13, a high-speed express passenger train traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg derailed in Novgorod region after a remote-controlled landmine exploded under the tracks. Thirteen train cars were derailed, 60 people were injured, some of them seriously, but there were no fatalities.... MORE
RUSSIAN EXPERTS DIVIDED OVER CLAIMS TO ARCTIC CONTINENTAL SHELF
As Russia staked a high-profile claim to the seabed under the Arctic Ocean, the country’s experts remain divided over the venture’s relevance. The liberal Nezavisimaya gazeta newspaper cited experts as saying that Russia’s polar venture did more harm than good. The expedition actually damaged Russia’s... MORE
Abu Yahya al-Libi: Al-Qaeda’s Theological Enforcer – Part 2
Today, the most lethal strategic danger to al-Qaeda's viability and goals is the same as when Osama bin Laden declared war on the United States in 1996: the threat of a premature, worldwide intra-civilizational conflict between Sunni Muslims and Shiites. Bin Laden has always kept... MORE
PKK Arms Scandal Fuels Turkish Suspicions
U.S. policy in Kurdish northern Iraq seems to be in flux, reflecting differences within the U.S. administration and the growing bitterness in U.S.-Turkish relations since Turkey prohibited the movement of U.S. troops through its territory during the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Claims last spring... MORE
MOSCOW LOOKS FOR OPENING TO PLAY SOLO IN THE MIDDLE EASTERN “QUARTET”
In the recent weeks, Russia has been remarkably self-assertive, suspending its participation in the CFE Treaty and sinking its flag in the North Pole, staging large-scale strategic exercises and putting gas pressure on Belarus. In the Middle East, however, Moscow has preferred to keep a... MORE
Investigation Reveals Ties Between Turkish al-Qaeda and Iraq
A firefight with U.S. military forces on June 23 near the town of Hawija in northern Iraq exposed the presence of Turkish al-Qaeda operatives. It also revealed their probable role in facilitating a flow of jihadis to Al-Qaeda in Iraq on behalf of al-Qaeda, as... MORE
RUSSIA TIGHTENS CONTROL OVER SAKHALIN-1 OUTPUT
On August 2, during a meeting of a special government commission, the Russian government formally notified Sakhalin-1 consortium stakeholders that they should prioritize the domestic delivery of all natural gas to the Russian Far East, according to a statement from the Russian Industry and Energy... MORE