Latest Articles about Middle East
Abu Mus’ab al-Suri and the Third Generation of Salafi-Jihadists
The decimation of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood in 1982 had many long-term implications, the most pernicious of which was the emergence of a particularly extreme form of Syrian Salafism. At the center of this is Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, better known as Abu Musab al-Suri (the... MORE
The History of Political and Militant Islam in Syria
The rise of political Islam in Syria can be traced to the 1940s, when a Muslim group called al-Gharra entered parliament, creating an Islamic Bloc to oppose the secular and civilian regime of President Shukri al-Quwatli. In 1944, its leaders presented a long list of... MORE
MOSCOW DODGES IRAN’S NUCLEAR OFFENSIVE
The European troika (France, Germany, and the UK) was clearly taken by surprise last week by Iran's determined drive to resume its uranium enrichment program. Their proposal, delivered to the impatient new leaders in Tehran in early August, was far from convincing, but they had... MORE
WHAT IS BEHIND THE GROWING TENSION IN RUSSIAN-POLISH RELATIONS?
The relationship between Moscow and Warsaw, never particularly easy throughout the last decade, appears to have degraded to the level of fistfights. Exactly a week after the July 31 mugging of three teenage sons of Russian diplomats in a Warsaw park, a Polish embassy employee... MORE
RUSSIA’S OILY ECONOMIC GROWTH
On August 4 the Russian government held a meeting to discuss the economic results of the first six months of 2005. They listened to a report by German Gref, Minister of Trade and Economic Development and the main standard bearer for the besieged market-liberal wing... MORE
Syria: A Haven for Terrorists?
Are Syrian officials aiding the underground mujahideen railroad to Iraq? The many strong opinions on the matter reflect the different views of Syria’s future, its relations with neighbors, Iraq and Lebanon, and to jihadist and moderate Islamism. Certainly, we need to look at the totality... MORE
Editor’s Note on Syria Special Issue
Syria is an enigmatic country. Ruled by a Ba’athist regime whose top leadership is drawn from a minority religious sect, Syria must contend with the enmity of the West and Islamists alike. This special issue presents a variety of perspectives on this important and controversial... MORE
BIRD FLU OUTBREAK THREATENS TO DEVASTATE CENTRAL EURASIAN ECONOMY
As Russia and Kazakhstan are now threatened by the Asian bird flu, the outbreak is understood to potentially entail wider economic repercussions. In the words of Russia's popular newspaper Moskovsky komsomolets: "Europe is afraid of our poultry" (August 8). The first cases were confirmed in... MORE
PUTIN’S SINKING PRESIDENCY: WHAT EFFICIENCY?
Last week saw a significant shift of emphasis in the unseasonably hot political commentary in Moscow: It was not whether but how Vladimir Putin will secure a third presidential term for himself (Nezavisimaya gazeta, Grani.ru, August 3). The trigger for this re-targeting of professional speculations... MORE
New Qaeda threats to the UAE
Additional threats from the mujahideen against the United Arab Emirates emerged at the end of July, with a renewed warning from a group calling itself the "al-Qaeda Organization in the Emirates and Oman". It called for the dismantling of all U.S. military installations within ten... MORE