Latest Articles about Middle East

RUSSIA’S EVOLVING CHECHNYA STRATEGY: MANAGED NORMALITY

Russia’s current campaign strategy in Chechnya relies on security agencies and the local government to the region as having a normal, controlled security environment. Russian security structures operating in Chechnya continue to find large weapons caches, making much of the attending publicity to show that... MORE

Violence and Rebellion in Iranian Balochistan

The escalating insurgency in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan and neighboring regions receives extensive media coverage. Aside from the need to root out radical Islamist opposition movements tied to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Pakistan faces a series of domestic threats based on ethnic, sectarian and... MORE

Jihad Without Rules: The Evolution of al-Takfir wa al-Hijra

The September 11 attacks precipitated the uncovering of extensive al-Takfir wa al-Hijra (Excommunication and Exile) networks across Europe specialized in logistical support to terrorist groups. While the obscure group had been previously encountered by law enforcement, many were surprised at the extent and reach of... MORE

CSTO SUMMIT: MILITARY BLOC NOT YET CEMENTED

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Alexander Lukashenka of Belarus, Robert Kocharian of Armenia, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan, Imomali Rahmonov of Tajikistan, and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan met on June 23 in Minsk for a dual summit of the Collective Security Treaty... MORE

Syria’s Abu al-Qaqa: Authentic Jihadist or Imposter?

Much has been written about the Aleppo-based Syrian preacher Abu al-Qaqa since Syrian security apprehended an armed group on June 2 that was attempting to carry out a terrorist attack at early dawn on the Ummayad Square in the heart of Damascus (Terrorism Focus, June... MORE

SADULAEV DEATH RESULT OF GOOD LUCK, NOT GOOD PLANNING

Russian authorities have scored a great victory over the Chechen rebels by killing their top leader, Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev. On June 17, Nikolai Patrushev, the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), announced that Sadulaev had been killed in the Chechen town of Argun (Sadulaev’s birthplace)... MORE

RUSSIAN ECONOMIC PARADOXES AND THE POWER OF “STUPID MONEY”

Macroeconomic dynamics have dominated the political debates in Moscow in mid-June, while the frenzy of speculation about Vladimir Putin's third presidential term or identifying a possible successor has taken a short respite. The government reviewed a colossal four-volume report on the main directions of its... MORE

RUSSIA AND CHINA EYE BOOMING BILATERAL TRADE AND INVESTMENT TIES

On the sidelines of the high-profile bilateral summit meetings at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) sessions, Russian and Chinese officials reiterated earlier pledges to develop trade and investment cooperation. In the first three months... MORE