Latest Articles about Middle East
RUSSIA WALKS THE TIGHTROPE BETWEEN IRAN AND WASHINGTON
The virtually simultaneous revelation of U.S. contingency -- and even operational -- planning for Iran by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker magazine and of Iran's capacity for enhancing uranium may not have generated a massive outpouring of overtly emotional replies in Russia. Indeed, Sergei... MORE
RUSSIAN PUNDITS SAY WORLD COMMUNITY DOES NOT HAVE LEVERAGE OVER IRAN
The Iranian leadership's announcement that Tehran has successfully enriched uranium prompted two types of reaction among Russia's analytic community. Most nuclear experts flatly dismiss Iran's overly triumphant claims, arguing that the country's specialists are pursuing routine research, that, if anything, the Islamic Republic is still... MORE
KOSOVO AND THE POST-SOVIET CONFLICTS: NO ANALOGY MEANS NO “PRECEDENT”
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov and other officials have shifted their tactics regarding the negotiations on the status of Kosovo. The new theme of their statements and tactical approach to the negotiations is: "No Haste." In their view, the negotiations must prepare a... MORE
PUTIN’S FEAR OF ELECTIONS AND FEAR OF INVESTMENT
Every recent election in Europe has severed a connection with Moscow, allowing Russia to drift further and further away from the rest of the continent. Italy is the latest point in this trajectory since Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's defeat this week signifies for Russian President... MORE
Al-Qaeda in Iraq: Has al-Zawahiri Reined in al-Zarqawi?
Media reports during the past week have announced that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi—al-Qaeda's chief in Iraq—has been "replaced" or "demoted" from the leadership of Iraq's Sunni resistance coalition (Daily Star, April 3; al-Bawaba, April 2). The stories have said that al-Zarqawi was removed as "the result... MORE
RUSSIA AND TAJIKISTAN HOLD JOINT ANTI-TERROR EXERCISES
Russia and Tajikistan have completed anti-terrorist drills in Tajikistan aimed at improving cooperation between the two states as part of their anti-terrorist strategy. Although such exercises are a regular occurrence, reflecting strong bilateral security cooperation, the exercises themselves differed in significant ways from previous high-profile... MORE
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH CHALLENGES “WESTERN” CONCEPT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
In its persistent efforts to craft a new national ideology that would underscore Russia's "civilizational uniqueness" and distinguish it from the liberal West, the Kremlin leadership has turned to the Orthodox Church -- the country's most conservative and anti-Western institution. Predictably, the "unholy alliance" of... MORE
KREMLIN PLAN TO MERGE ADYGEYA MEETS UNEXPECTED OBSTACLE
On April 4, the second session of the newly elected parliament of Adygeya, a region in the western section of the North Caucasus, ended abruptly when President Khasret Sovmen announced his resignation. The Adygei leader had come to parliament to observe the process to select... MORE
Salafi-Jihadist Movement Becoming a New Force in Lebanon
In July 2005, French scholar Olivier Roy argued that Iraq and Palestine are not factors in the prevalence of the Salafi-Jihadist movement. He based his argument on the fact that there are no Iraqi or Palestinian members in the Salafi-Jihadist organizations. Now, however, this argument... MORE
Jihadi Forums Marvel at New Role of Snipers
The periodic success of mujahideen snipers in Iraq has been stimulating the imagination of jihadist forum readers, and this has taken the form of a number of video productions. A high-quality, 15-minute example of the genre, entitled Qannas Baghdad ("The Sniper of Baghdad") was circulated... MORE