Latest Articles about Middle East
Yemen Attack Reveals Struggle Among Al-Qaeda’s Ranks
Throughout the spring and early summer, a schism has emerged within the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, pitting younger, more radicalized members against the moderate old guard. These strategic differences materialized on July 2, when a suicide bomber attacked a convoy of Spanish tourists in... MORE
Maliki Government Faces a Governance Crisis
Post-Baathist Iraq is undergoing a perilous phase in its short history. The Nuri al-Maliki government, which was formed in May 2006 as the first "unity government" after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, is now facing a major breakdown in its multi-sectarian coalition. In late... MORE
FROM SCHROEDER TO STOIBER?
Russian President Vladimir Putin received Edmund Stoiber, the head of Bavaria’s government and chairman of Germany’s conservative Christian-Social Union (CSU, Bavarian wing of Germany’s governing Christian-Democrat/Christian Social Union), on July 5 for a four-hour meeting in Moscow. During this meeting, Stoiber endorsed Russia’s goal of... MORE
RUSSIA WINS OLYMPIC BID, NOW MUST REALIZE AMBITIOUS PLANS
The fish that President Vladimir Putin caught while sailing with U.S. President George W. Bush and former president George H.W. Bush at Kennebunkport, Maine, turned out to be a lucky one. After Maine, Putin’s next stop was Guatemala City, where he delivered an emotional speech... MORE
RUSSIA’S GIANT BUREISKAYA HYDROPOWER PLANT NEARS COMPLETION
On July 5 Russia’s Unified Energy Systems (UES) launched the fifth power-generating unit of its flagship project in the Far East, the Bureiskaya plant, in Talakan, Amur region. The plant’s first unit was launched in June 2003 and is due to be completed in 2008... MORE
The Militia Politics of Basra
Basra, the second largest and the richest city in Iraq, is at the brink of a major economic and political meltdown. Unless Baghdad succeeds in reaching a compromise over the country's governmental apparatus (especially over the issue of federalism), the southern city may become the... MORE
Turkey’s Foreign Policy toward Northern Iraq Still Undecided
Turkey has serious concerns regarding developments in Iraq that occurred after the U.S. invasion of March 2003 [1]. The gravity of these concerns centers around the possibility of the disintegration of Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines that could result in the consequent proclamation of... MORE
RUSSIA WARNS OF MISSILE FORWARD-DEPLOYMENT IN KALININGRAD REGION
On July 4, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov warned that Russia could deploy medium-range missiles in the Kaliningrad oblast -- opposite Lithuania and Poland -- if the United States turns down Russia’s proposals on anti-missile defense in Europe. The implicit threat to these staunch... MORE
ANGER AGAINST LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND FSB TERROR RISING IN INGUSHETIA
The regular reports from the North Caucasus about armed, masked men who rush into houses early in the morning to kidnap young men are old news. Kidnappings, illegal detentions, and disappearances have become daily occurrences for the whole region, especially Chechnya, Ingushetia, and Dagestan. Civilian... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s New Leader in Afghanistan: A Profile of Abu al-Yazid
Al-Qaeda's late-May naming of Mustafa Ahmed Muhammad Uthman Abu al-Yazid as the "general leader" of the group's activities in Afghanistan shows that Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri believe that helping the Taliban win the Afghan war is a top priority. It also suggests that... MORE