Latest Articles about Middle East
Two Types of Splinter Groups Break from Moqtada al-Sadr
The recent rise of Sadrist splinter groups is a sign of a major shakeup in the Sadrist movement, so far mainly dominated by Moqtada al-Sadr. These splinter groups represent a deep-seated change in the Sadrist faction in both ideological and militaristic terms, which could have... MORE
MOSCOW FAILS TO BRING ABKHAZIA TO UNSC, BUT WILL TRY AGAIN
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried hard to help the Abkhaz “foreign minister,” Sergei Shamba, crash the doors of the U.N. Security Council’s April 9-13 deliberations on the conflict in Abkhazia. However, Moscow was unable to obtain a U.S. visa for Shamba, who is a... MORE
PUTIN’S STABILITY MELTS AS THE “DISCONTENTED” TAKE TO THE STREETS
At first glance, the event in Moscow that made much international news over the weekend was blown out of all proportions. A few thousand “radicals” tried to stage a march on April 14. They had only been allowed permission for a “rally,” and consequently a... MORE
MOSCOW ENLISTS POST-SOVIET SECESSIONIST LEADERS TO PRESSURE THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL
“Parliamentary” leaders and the “foreign ministers“ of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria met in Moscow on April 9 and in Sukhumi on April 10, respectively. By the participants’ explicit admission, the meetings were timed to the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) April 10 session on... MORE
BESLAN MEMORIAL SPARKS RELIGIOUS TENSION IN NORTH OSSETIA
On April 10 Emma Tagaeva-Betrozova, head of “Voice of Beslan,” asked for Muslim input on plans to build a memorial to commemorate victims of the Beslan tragedy. Her organization unites victims and survivors of the terrorist raid on the North Ossetian town of Beslan on... MORE
CIS AND OTHER ISSUES SOUR U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS
While visiting Moscow last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez painted a rosy picture of U.S.-Russian relations. "The only thing people read once in a while is that we have a disagreement, but even family members have disagreements," Gutierrez was quoted as saying. "We are... MORE
RUSSIA DETAILS PLANS TO DEVELOP REMOTE FAR EASTERN REGIONS
On April 5 the Russian government disclosed the details of its pledge to spend billions in government funding to speed up development of the country's Far East. In response, local leaders rushed to demand more money for their respective regions. The government plans to allocate... MORE
Leader of 1920 Revolution Brigades Killed by al-Qaeda
The 1920 Revolution Brigades recently announced the death of its leader, Harith Dhahir Khamis al-Dari, nephew and namesake of Harith al-Dari, the exiled head of the Muslim Scholars Association. The 1920 Revolution Brigades is one of the largest indigenous Iraqi insurgent groups, but after al-Dari's... MORE
RUSSIA POISED TO LEAD AN EVOLVING CARTEL OF GAS-EXPORTING COUNTRIES
Convening in Doha, Qatar on April 9, the Gas-Exporting Countries’ Forum (GECF) has taken a first step toward creating an exporters’ cartel at the intergovernmental level. However, the Western gas-exporting countries -- Canada, Norway, and the Netherlands -- oppose this initiative, as does Azerbaijan; while... MORE
RUSSIAN ECONOMIC DYNAMISM UNDERMINED BY “STATE CURSE”
The Russian economic boom continues to gain momentum, leading the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) to raise its growth forecast for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007 from 6.2% to 6.5% (RosBusinessConsulting, April 6). At the annual the Higher School of Economics... MORE