Latest Articles about Middle East
Osama bin Laden: Cornered in Kunar or Nuristan?
The whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and U.S efforts to capture and kill him have made many media headlines over the years, resulting in some plausible speculation and many figments of the imagination. But the June 28 U.S. military operation in Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar province... MORE
Syrian website calls for experienced mujahideen, as Aleppo becomes key point of departure for Iraq
A recent posting on the Syrian mujahid site Minbar Suria al-Islami [www.nnuu.org] gives an insight both into the self-confidence of the Iraqi mujahideen, and the caution to be taken while in Syria. The participant counsels against the further influx of hopeful youths for jihad ("with... MORE
Islamist insurgents seek to contain PR disaster: notes of defeatism
News of ongoing discussions between the U.S. military and the Iraqi insurgents has rattled the jihadist groups in the country. Reports of such meetings go back to last February, when Time magazine highlighted a meeting between insurgents and two U.S. military officials. This was followed... MORE
IRANIAN NUCLEAR TEAM IN MOSCOW, SEEKING NEW PARTNERSHIPS
Senior Iranian officials have indicated that Russia could become a partner in lucrative projects to build 20 nuclear power stations in Iran. "A plan has been approved in parliament obliging the government to study the possibility of building 20 nuclear power stations. Many countries, including... MORE
RUSSIA REAPPRAISES MILITARY “AWARENESS” OF TERRORISM
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has expressed confidence in the growing awareness of the Russian military, not only about the nature of the terrorist threat it faces, but on the need to implement practical security measures to improve the safety of security personnel. That is... MORE
PUTIN’S AGENDA PREVAILS AT THE G-8 SUMMIT: IT IS TERRORISM, COMRADES!
From Moscow's point of view, the content of this year's G-8 summit was supposed to be totally unexciting, if not completely irrelevant. Aid to Africa is of no interest for the Russian political class and is seriously unpopular with society; even at Gleneagles, the Scottish... MORE
RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY EXPERTS MULL STRATEGY TOWARD POST-SOVIET LANDS
In the opinion of some representatives of Russia's political class, the "losing streak" that began last year is still continuing, as Moscow's geopolitical influence in post-Soviet Eurasia keeps shrinking. However, as one saying has it, successes encourage, but defeats mobilize. A recent gathering of policymakers... MORE
SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION SUMMIT SUGGESTS NEW RUSSIA-CHINA LINKS
As the six Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members gathered Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, on July 5, the summit meeting seemingly adopted a measure of anti-Western rhetoric. The SCO states (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan) not only suggested that the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan... MORE
SCO ASKS WASHINGTON TO SET DATE FOR WITHDRAWAL OF FORCES
The presidents of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan -- member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization -- held a summit of the SCO on July 5 in Astana. Their joint declaration requests the U.S.-led anti-terrorist coalition forces to set a date for leaving... MORE
PUTIN’S MÉNAGE À TROIS IN KALININGRAD
Over the weekend of July 3-4, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted French President Jacques Chirac and German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder for a summit in Kaliningrad, supposedly to celebrate the city's 750th anniversary. Putin conspicuously declined to invite Polish and Lithuanian leaders to this event,... MORE