Latest Articles about Middle East
Zarqawi’s declining ideological support among Islamists
In the wake of the kidnapping and assassination of the Egyptian ambassador to Baghdad, Ihab al-Sherif, condemnation for the military policies of al-Qaeda in Iraq came from an unexpected source. The two major militant Islamist organizations in Egypt, al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya and al-Gihad, launched an attack... MORE
Al-Qaeda extends threats to journalists and intellectuals outside Iraq
On July 17, al-Qaeda in Iraq issued a death threat to the Egyptian author Dr. Sayyid Mahmud al-Qimny, famous for his historical and anthropological works examining critically the origins of Islam. The text of the threatening letter, given in a report by the Arabic liberal... MORE
REBIRTH OF AGITPROP: RUSSIA’S SPENDING ON PATRIOTIC PROPAGANDA WILL TRIPLE
On July 18, the Russian government adopted a special federal program of patriotic education that will promote national and state values through the year 2010. The blueprint was reportedly lobbied by Russia's siloviki -- the omnipotent representatives of the defense and security agencies -- and... MORE
RUSSIA BOOSTING GAS EXPORT CAPACITY TO EUROPE
Russia's Gazprom is moving rapidly to preempt potential competitors on European markets, far outpacing the European Union's development of a supply-diversification strategy. Gazprom will soon complete the first trunk line of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline and is set to embark on the North European gas... MORE
MOSCOW BOOSTS SECURITY IN THE FAR EAST
From July 18 to 24, Russia is holding large-scale military maneuvers aimed at countering potential terrorist attacks in its Far East region. However, since terrorists have not yet really targeted Russia's Far East, the drill is understood to have other purposes as well. The drill,... MORE
MOSCOW HARDENS TONE TO WASHINGTON ON CENTRAL ASIA
Two new terms, loaded with adversarial connotations, made their appearance in Moscow's discourse on Central Asia, in the context of demands to set a deadline on the use of military bases in that region by U.S.-led forces (see EDM, July 6, 7). Elaborating on that... MORE
THE SILENCE OF THE SILOVIKI: HAVE THEY LOST PUTIN’S TRUST?
By mid-July, the political season in Russia should be over, but the intensity of expert commentary is so high now that one might think that parliamentary elections are just half a year away. In fact, they are not due until December 2007, which, by Russian... MORE
Yemen’s Committee for Dialogue: Can Jihadists Return to Society?
Well before 9/11, Yemen was faced with a terrorist threat on a scale matched by few other countries. It was not a case of unraveling the occasional sleeper cell but rather a question of how to handle thousands of militants, many of whom returned to... MORE
Anbar Province and Emerging Trends in the Iraqi Insurgency
The recent upsurge of fighting in Iraq’s restive Anbar province is one of many indicators that some of Iraq’s insurgents are evolving into organized guerilla formations. This comes at a time of daily multiple bombings in Baghdad and other cities, which have elevated the insurgency... MORE
ANALYSTS DEBATE PROS AND CONS OF “EASTERN VECTOR” IN KREMLIN’S FOREIGN POLICY
Most international and Russian experts seem to appreciate the geostrategic significance of the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit (see EDM, July 6, 7). The general consensus within the analytic community is that Beijing and Moscow have succeeded in turning the SCO into a rather... MORE