Latest Articles about Middle East

Is al-Zawahiri’s Letter to al-Zarqawi a Fake?

On October 6, U.S. intelligence in Iraq revealed the existence of a 13-page letter, dated July 9, 2005, from al-Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahiri and addressed to al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The message contained a number of interesting features, including a request... MORE

The Salafization of the Iraq Conflict

An interesting note posted on a jihadi web forum complements a recent analysis by U.S. Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner on the course of the insurgency in Iraq. In an interview published by The Washington Post on September 28, leading military intelligence officer Gen. Zahner neatly... MORE

KABARDINO-BALKARIA FACES LONG-TERM GUERRILLA WAR

Russian authorities are hailing their handling of the October 13 rebel attack on Nalchik, the capital of the Caucasian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, as a "great success." Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliev called the attack an "act of desperation" on the part of the... MORE

“MULTICULTURALISM” FORUM GATHERS MOSCOW’S SUPPORTERS

On October 15 in Moscow, officials from the presidential administration and other Kremlin-connected figures hosted a "Forum on Democracy and Multiculturalism in the Euro-East." The participants included representatives of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and Karabakh, activists of pro-Russia parties and associations from several post-Soviet countries,... MORE

RUSSIA SHEDS NO TEARS OVER PEACE TREATY WITH JAPAN

As Russia has failed to secure any significant economic commitments from Tokyo, notably on the Japan-bound Pacific oil pipeline route, the Kremlin is losing interest in resolving a long-standing territorial dispute any time soon.Russia appears to have ruled out any compromise over the Kuril Islands,... MORE

MOSCOW SEES SU-27 CRASH AS OPPORTUNITY FOR NATO COOPERATION

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has seized on the SU-27 crash in Lithuania to reaffirm Moscow's proposal for joint airspace monitoring and civilian and military air traffic control by NATO and Russia over the Baltic states, through the aegis of the NATO-Russia Council (NAC). Russia's... MORE

NOBEL COMMITTEE SENDS WARNING TO THE RUSSIAN MILITARY

The Kremlin approved wholeheartedly the "exceptionally right decision" to award the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Atomic Energy Agency and Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei, noting particularly that "he does not react on various shouts and is a very reliable partner" (Newsru.com, October 7). Apparently,... MORE

MOSCOW SKILLFULLY USES ENERGY LEVERAGE TO DIVIDE EUROPE

The October 4 Russia-EU summit in London, as well as the talks Russian President Vladimir Putin held with Belgian leaders in Brussels on October 3 and with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on October 5, once again laid bare an important aspect of modern geopolitical... MORE