Latest Articles about Middle East
RUSSIA REVERSES PLANS ON SUPERGIANT SHTOKMAN GAS FIELD
On October 9 Russia’s Gazprom announced that it has canceled the international tender for part-ownership and development of its supergiant Shtokman offshore gas field in the Barents Sea. Instead, Gazprom will itself develop the field as 100% owner. Moreover, the eventual output’s planned destination has... MORE
KREMLIN SUGGESTS EXILED OLIGARCHS KILLED POLITKOVSKAYA TO EMBARRASS MOSCOW
Yesterday, October 10, Anna Politkovskaya, the 48-year-old star investigative reporter of the Novaya gazeta newspaper, was buried in Moscow. Politkovskaya was gunned down near her apartment building Saturday in an apparent contract killing. The funeral and public mourning was held at a small cemetery on... MORE
Al-Sadr’s Weakening Grip on the Mahdi Army
In recent weeks, Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army continues to be blamed for the sectarian killings that are plaguing Iraq. Al-Sadr, however, has repeatedly called on his followers to show restraint and not be provoked into violence. Yet the killings continue, and this has... MORE
EIG’s Muhammed al-Hakaima Continues to Incite Jihad
In a videotaped statement issued on August 5, al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri announced what he described as a merger between members of Egyptian Gama'a al-Islamiyya (EIG, Egyptian Islamic Group), under the leadership of Muhammed Khalil al-Hakaima, and al-Qaeda. Muhammed Shawqi Islambouli, the younger brother of... MORE
Saudi Arabia to Build Security Fence on Iraqi Border
Following a series of reports that began to appear in late September, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdel Aziz has confirmed that Riyadh intends to construct a 560-mile security fence along the kingdom's northern border with Iraq (al-Arabiya, October 4). This comes... MORE
PEOPLE OF NORTH CAUCASUS BELIEVE THEIR HOPES FOR JUSTICE DIED WITH POLITKOVSKAYA
The October 7 murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist who wrote about human rights violations in the North Caucasus, has enraged the people of the region. “I regard the death of Anna Politkovskaya as an act of political terror,” Chechen student Osam Masaev told... MORE
Assessing Shukrijumah’s Nuclear Plot Against the United States
Hamid Mir is loved, hated, revered and slandered by his fans and cautious observers alike. The Pakistani journalist has battled his way from the dregs of anonymity to the bright lights of evening programming, hosting the popular political talk show Capital Talk since 2002. What... MORE
Hassan Nasrallah and the Strategy of Steadfastness
When speaking about Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's political strategy, it is necessary to study the organization as a whole. According to Hezbollah's leaders, the party was born as a resistance movement, not as a political party in the classic sense. Nasrallah emphasizes the collective nature... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Top Ideologues Release New Statements on the Global Jihad
The past week produced messages from the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who uses the name Abu Hamza al-Muhajir and may be an Egyptian by the name of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, and al-Qaeda deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. While there is nothing startlingly new in... MORE
Arrests May Cause Partnership between Ansar al-Sunnah and al-Qaeda in Iraq
The month of September was rife with reports detailing the arrests and killings of senior al-Qaeda officials and their associates in Iraq. In September alone, coalition forces arrested one al-Qaeda leader and killed another, arrested the leader of Ansar al-Sunnah and two of his associates,... MORE