Latest Articles about Middle East
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
RUSSIA APPEARS TO BE A SILENT PARTNER IN LATEST KOREAN NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS
Russia's media have been unusually quiet, even restrained, about the July 9 announcement that North Korea would return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program on or around July 27. While the Foreign Ministry voiced its happiness over this decision, and other official media... MORE
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