Latest Articles about Middle East
Internet Mujahideen Analyze the Latest Bin Laden Audio Tape
The rarity of an Osama bin Laden commentary (one year after the last broadcast in December 2004) is stirring a wealth of commentary in the world's media. The focus is on its veracity and on the implications for the West of the truce offer coupled... MORE
Al-Zarqawi Reportedly Moves to New Area of Iraq
A report by al-Jazeera satellite TV on January 22, citing Iraqi military officials who claim that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, is in the Diyala province (northeast of Baghdad), runs contrary to the assessments of Iraqi intelligence services and U.S. military... MORE
RUSSIA STRUGGLES WITH COLD AND SHIVERS FROM ENERGY INSECURITY
For a second week Russia has been making international news even though its political life remains close to hibernation. Arctic air has spread over its vast territory, bringing bitterly cold temperatures that most cities have not seen for the last 25 years. Moscow, with daytime... MORE
DAMAGE CONTROL FOR RUSSIA AND CHINA AFTER CHEMICAL SPILL
The November 2005 benzene spill came as an unwanted irritant for Moscow's and Beijing's stated policy of "strategic partnership." Subsequently, both sides went ahead with damage control measures, which were summed up at talks in Moscow. To deal with the slick's aftermath, a Chinese mission... MORE
KREMLIN ENERGY POLICY IN EUROPE: DIVIDE ET IMPERA
The jury is still out on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin's idea to turn his country into an "energy superpower" is a viable long-term development strategy. Yet in the short run, Moscow appears likely to continue aggressively using its seemingly boundless mineral resources to re-assert... MORE
Internet Mujahideen Intensify Research on U.S. Economic Targets
A series of documents recently (re)circulating on the internet continue to underline a pressing jihadist interest in targeting U.S. economic assets. Some of these documents are quite explicit and detailed, giving indications of specific pipelines and facilities to attack—not only in the Gulf, but wherever... MORE
Zawahiri: Foreshadowing Attacks on Israel and America?
The last three months have been a busy media season for al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. He has released a number of lengthy statements addressing the earthquake in Pakistan, the perfidy of President Musharraf‘s government, elections in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, and the military... MORE
ROSNEFT EYES NEW FIELDS IN EASTERN SIBERIA AND BEYOND
Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil titan, has been pursuing a very aggressive policy in recent months in order to boost its clout in Eastern Siberia. In the meantime, Rosneft's pro-active approach has been seen as a part of the Kremlin's broader strategy to rely on major... MORE
HAS MOSCOW TURNED ITS BACK ON TEHRAN?
The protracted, slow-moving intrigue around Iran's nuclear program accelerated sharply last week as the international seals on the research facility at Natanz were removed. The frustrated European "troika" -- France, Germany, and the UK -- interrupted their fruitless negotiations with Iran, and the United States... MORE
IVANOV RESTATES KREMLIN’S MONROE DOCTRINE
An increasingly assertive Moscow appears to be revising the organizational forms it has used to dominate the post-Soviet space. While a growing number of influential Russian policymakers and pundits speak in favor of relegating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to the dustbin of history,... MORE