Latest Articles about Middle East
RUSSIA WRAPPING UP ITS WAR AGAINST TERROR
The outstanding success of the British secret services in foiling a terrorist plot that could have claimed hundreds of lives did not fail to make headlines in the Russian media. Newspapers emphasized particularly the fact that all detained suspects were young Muslims of Pakistani origin... MORE
Lessons from al-Qaeda’s Attack on the Khobar Compound
The terrorist attack on Khobar, Saudi Arabia—the hub of the Saudi oil industry—by four al-Qaeda operatives on May 29, 2004, provided a significant morale boost for al-Qaeda. The attack resulted in the deaths of 22 foreigners. The jihadi forums used this attack to boast about... MORE
Hezbollah’s Rocket Strategy
Rockets are not new weapons, nor are they strangers to Middle East warfare. Size, range and destructive power are all factors in the development of rocket-based strategies, the ultimate of which was the "Mutually Assured Destruction" of the Cold War. The rockets used by Hezbollah... MORE
MOSCOW MANEUVERS TO FORCE EUROPE TO ACCEPT ITS TERMS OF ENERGY COOPERATION
Moscow appears to be stepping up efforts to impose its own rules of the game on West European consumers of Russian hydrocarbons. The latest deal between Russian and Algerian state-controlled energy companies seems to make sure that Europe becomes more vulnerable, as it will increasingly... MORE
RUSSIAN ORGANIZATIONS IN TRANSNISTRIA CAMPAIGN FOR A SECOND KALININGRAD
Sponsored jointly by Russian big business and security services, a network of Greater Russia political and “civic” organizations is sprouting up in Transnistria, advocating the accession to the Russian Federation of this part of Moldova. Recent days have witnessed a wave of founding conferences of... MORE
MOSCOW AND ASTANA AT ODDS OVER RUSSIAN ROCKET CRASH
On the night of July 26 the Russian Dnepr rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kyzylorda region, Kazakhstan, and crashed 74 seconds after launch. The 250-ton Dnepr booster rocket was meant to carry 18 foreign satellites into space, the most important cargo aboard being... MORE
Saad bin Laden: The Key to Iranian-al-Qaeda Detente?
On July 28, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard reportedly released Osama bin Laden's 27 year-old son, Saad bin Laden, according to the German newspaper Die Welt. Saad had been held under house arrest in Iran, along with other al-Qaeda figures who were arrested in round-ups by... MORE
MOSCOW OUTRAGED BY U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST TWO RUSSIAN COMPANIES
On the evening of Friday, August 4, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a statement that condemned in the strongest possible way the decision of U.S. State Department to introduce sanctions against Rosoboroneksport and Sukhoi for violating the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 (Lenta.ru, August 4).... MORE
RUSSIA MOVES TO DEVELOP AND REPOPULATE THE KURIL ISLANDS
As Russia has failed to secure any significant economic incentives from Tokyo, especially a Japan-bound Pacific oil pipeline route, the Kremlin has moved to develop and repopulate the Kuril Islands, apparently indicating a loss of interest in resolving the long-standing territorial dispute. Russia's government has... MORE
Saudi Arabia’s Shiites and their Effect on the Kingdom’s Stability
A decade has passed since Saudi Hezbollah, known locally as Ansar Khat al-Imam (Followers of the Line of the Imam), bombed the Khobar Towers, a U.S. military housing compound, killing 19 soldiers and injuring 350 [1]. This attack brought dramatic attention to Saudi Arabia's Shiite... MORE