Latest Articles about Middle East
PUTIN’S GAS BLUNDER
The abortive interruption of Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine on January 1 was a humiliating diplomatic blunder. It was an unnecessary crisis, and one that Russia clumsily lost in the court of world public opinion. While Ukraine was threatened with a gas blockade, Russia... MORE
Internal Jihadist Criticisms of the War in Iraq
Evidence continues to mount on the growing disaffection with the methodology of the mujahideen in Iraq. One of the most public demonstrations of this occurred on January 6 when the residents of Ar-Ramadi, considered a hotbed of support for the Sunni Arab insurgency, publicly blamed... MORE
Iraqi Rebels Fill Political Vacuum
As Iraqi political parties continue to wrangle over the composition of the new government, the insurgents have taken the initiative with a series of bold strikes over the past 10 days. These attacks have killed over 150 Shi'ite worshippers and mourners and at least 23... MORE
ILLARIONOV RESIGNATION REDUCES KREMLIN DEBATE ON ECONOMY, ENERGY POLICY
The December 27 resignation of Andrei Illarionov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's economic adviser, is yet another sign of Russia's departure from the liberal economic path. In the meantime, Illarionov's exodus also marks an end to insider criticism of a number of Kremlin policies, including a... MORE
AS RUSSIA IS DOWNGRADED TO “UNFREE” IS IT UNFIT TO HEAD THE G-8?
It is perhaps fitting that the Ukraine-Russia gas conflict has rekindled debates whether Russia truly belongs in the prestigious Group of Eight (G-8) advanced liberal democratic market economies. As the Wall Street Journal Europe (January 3) editorialized, "All of this makes Russia's assumption of the... MORE
KREMLIN STOPS GAS DELIVERIES TO UKRAINE
Authorized by President Vladimir Putin, Gazprom halted deliveries of Russian gas to Ukraine as of 10 am Moscow time on January 1. To maximize the political impact in Ukraine, Russia's state-controlled television channels showed Putin, his close aide and Gazprom chairman Dmitry Medvedev, and other... MORE
The Transformation of Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam seems to have dropped off the radar screen, while an even more active and deadly terrorist organization with similar nomenclature, Ansar al-Sunna, has emerged in its place. With its membership scattered and installations decimated, has Ansar al-Islam disappeared as a coherent force? Although... MORE
Assessing the Iraqi Elections’ Impact on Terrorism and Insurgency
As Iraq staged its first election for a full-term parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein, there are increasing hopes in Washington and London that the pace of the steadily growing insurgency may have at long last been stunted. But if previous elections in post-Saddam... MORE
Westerners Being Recruited by al-Qaeda
A statement entitled "al-Qaeda's Future Soldier: Rakan Bin Williams," published by a group calling itself "al-Qaeda's Voice on the Internet," indicates that al-Qaeda plans to recruite white European converts to Islam rather than depend on Arabs and Muslims from Middle Eastern or Asian origin (posted... MORE
Al-Zawahiri Encourages Targeting of Gulf Oil…
Along with the "Impediments to Jihad" audiotape, the al-Sahab Media Productions company produced on September 19 a 43-minute video featuring a meeting with Ayman al-Zawahiri, five minutes of which was broadcast on that day by the Arab television network al-Jazeera. On December 7, al-Jazeera re-ran... MORE