Latest Articles about Middle East
Concerns Mount over Hezbollah’s Rearmament
As the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) completes its withdrawal this week from southern Lebanon, there are fears in Israel that the Hezbollah movement is consolidating and even expanding its arsenal, in contradiction to UN resolution 1701, which calls for the Shiite group to disarm. Hezbollah... MORE
ASSASSINATION OF POSSIBLE SOVMEN SUCCESSOR CLEARS THE WAY FOR KREMLIN CANDIDATE
During the evening of September 25, Murat Kudaev, head of the Krasnogvardeisk district of Adygeya, a republic in the North Caucasus, was returning home after a meeting of the Adygei government in Maykop, the local capital. When Kudaev approached Adamy, his native village in Krasnogvardeisk... MORE
SAKHALIN OIL AND GAS PROJECTS: WHAT IS BEHIND RUSSIA’S COERCIVE BEHAVIOR?
On September 18 a Russian high court ordered the temporary suspension of operations at the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas development project due to environmental considerations (Asahi Shimbun, September 18). The order followed a complaint filed by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, which claims that... MORE
PAUSE IN ENLARGEMENT CREATES STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY IN EUROPE AND RUSSIA’S COMMON NEIGHBORHOOD
An imminent halt in the European Union’s eastward expansion will create a new geopolitical reality in Russia and the EU’s overlapping neighborhoods. This week Brussels made two key decisions. First, Romania and Bulgaria were reluctantly green-lighted to join the EU in January. (The possible alternative... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS ENTREE INTO EUROPE’S AVIATION MARKET
Recently Vneshtorgbank, Moscow’s state owned foreign trade bank, spent about a billion dollars to buy 5.02% of the shares of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Corporation (EADS). The revelation of this purchase is a clear sign, corroborated by press reports, that Moscow seeks a... MORE
LIGHT SENTENCES FOR HIGH-PROFILE RUSSIAN HAZING CASE
A high-profile military hazing trial in Chelyabinsk ended yesterday, September 26. Private Andrei Sychyov had his legs amputated last January after being abused in the barracks and is still hospitalized today. Three conscript soldiers were on trial in Chelyabinsk, though only Junior Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov... MORE
GSPC Joins al-Qaeda and France Becomes Top Enemy
Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri's recent September 11 threat to France, coupled with al-Qaeda's official integration with the Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC), is significant for two principal reasons. First, from al-Qaeda's perspective, it is a formal alliance with an "out-of-area" Islamist group... MORE
Al-Qaeda Oil Attack Thwarted in Yemen
On September 15, Yemen's Interior Ministry announced that during a shootout it had blown up four cars laden with explosives, killing the four suicide bombers in the process before they could reach their intended targets. The foiled attack came within days of al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman... MORE
PUTIN DOWNPLAYS ENERGY DIALOGUE IN PARIS
Russian President Vladimir Putin resumed his European engagements last week, traveling to Budapest and Paris; he also plans a sentimental trip to Dresden in mid-October. The atmosphere at the meetings, however, was not exactly cordial, with French President Jacques Chirac assuming a rather reserved tone... MORE
RUSSIAN PUNDITS WARY OF ANKARA’S REVIVED GEOPOLITICAL AMBITIONS IN EURASIA
The suggestion to form a Turkish commonwealth among Turkic-speaking countries voiced at the recent gathering of leaders of Turkic states in Turkey’s seaside resort city of Antalya appears to reflect Ankara’s desire to strengthen its economic and political positions in Eurasia. Moscow should not treat... MORE