Latest Articles about Middle East
RUSSIAN ANALYSTS SAY MOSCOW MAY BENEFIT FROM FRENCH AND DUTCH “NO” TO EU CONSTITUTION
As the European Union's leadership reels from the French and Dutch rejection of the bloc's proposed constitution in national referendums on May 29 and June 1, respectively, most Russian analysts believe this new development may work to Russia's advantage. The resolute refusal to approve the... MORE
LAVROV MEETS CHINESE, INDIAN COUNTERPARTS IN VLADIVOSTOK
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Chinese and Indian counterparts Li Zhaoxing and Natwar Singh in Vladivostok on June 2, talk resurfaced about the three countries combining forces into a Moscow-Beijing-New Delhi axis, an alliance of three nuclear-armed countries that are home to... MORE
RUSSIA STUDIES OSH FOR POSSIBLE NEW MILITARY BASE IN KYRGYZSTAN
Russia is seriously contemplating the possibility of increasing its military presence in Kyrgyzstan, largely in response to the Kyrgyz revolution in March and the recent unrest in Uzbekistan. Despite senior individuals with strong influence within the Kremlin alluding to Osh as the location of a... MORE
CHINA, RUSSIA FLOAT IDEA OF SELLING BAIKAL WATER
Chinese and Russian officials are considering the possibility of diverting water from Lake Baikal in Siberia through Mongolia to China's Inner Mongolia Region. According to an unnamed official from China's Ministry of Water Resources, Russian officials contacted them in May about such a project (Chinadaily.com.cn,... MORE
Osama bin Laden on the Demise of the Saudi Regime
Speeches by Osama bin Laden have an avid Western audience when he thunders against the United States and its allies, threatening imminent destruction. Other bin Laden speeches dealing with religious issues or the state of Islamic civilization, however, tend to attract much less attention. This... MORE
RUSSIA CONSIDERS ITS BORDER SECURITY
Russian security officials, aware of the diverse security threats facing the country, are taking steps to raise the overall effectiveness of the border guard service. Plans to gradually increase the numbers of professional or contract personnel will be augmented by more state investment in order... MORE
RUSSIA AND IRAN JOIN HANDS IN THE CASPIAN
While Central Asia and the Caucasus have been the recent focus of world attention due to the popular revolution in Kyrgyzstan and the massacre in Andijan, Uzbekistan, potentially significant strategic developments there have been unduly neglected. In late April Russia evidently proposed the creation of... MORE
PUBLIC SENTIMENT TURNS TOWARD KHODORKOVSKY, WHILE PUTIN GRAPPLES WITH BLACKOUT
On May 16, a Russian court began reading the verdict in the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, owner of the destroyed oil giant Yukos, and his partner, Platon Lebedev. By the end of the first week of reading the 1,000-page verdict aloud, a different issue had... MORE
THE RUSSIAN MILITARY FLEXES ITS WEAKENED MUSCLES
Russia State Duma deputies have launched a concerted effort to rally opposition to the American military's rising interest in, and possible future deployments around, the Caspian region. Specifically, some deputies fear that the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline might be used as a pretext for stepping up... MORE
Baathist Origins of the Zarqawi Letter
Coalition forces recently captured a seventeen-page letter detailing plans to foment civil war in Iraq before the June 30 deadline for the hand-over of power. Some analysts have suggested the letter is proof of al-Qaeda's involvement in terrorist attacks in Iraq today, attributing authorship of... MORE