Latest Articles about Middle East
Coalition Warfare, Part II: How Zarqawi Fits into Bin Laden’s World Front
The Iraq-based organization of Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi is the most recent addition to Bin Laden's coalition, the World Islamic Front Against Crusaders and Jews. Zarqawi is the most important addition to the Front since it absorbed Zawahiri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad. It is therefore worth examining... MORE
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT TRAVELS TO MIDDLE EAST, BEARING GIFTS FOR ALL
From April 26-30 Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an unprecedented trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and he will be the first Russian leader to visit Egypt in 40 years. Putin's Middle East tour has a very clear set of objectives. Essentially Putin... MORE
RUSSIAN ENERGY MINISTER VISITS TOKYO, PLEDGES TO CONTINUE DISCUSSIONS ON PIPELINE ROUTE
While Russia wavers on a Japan-bound Pacific oil pipeline route, Tokyo is making new overtures toward Moscow. Last week, Russia and Japan pledged to work out concrete ways of cooperation in order to build the Pacific oil pipeline. According to the memorandum signed in Tokyo... MORE
YUKOS ASSET SEIZURE YET ANOTHER BLOW TO INVESTOR CONFIDENCE
As the remaining assets of the oil giant Yukos were seized last week, the fate of Russia's former leading oil company and its subsidiaries has come to symbolize the country's investment climate. The Moscow Arbitration Court agreed on April 19 to freeze the remaining key... MORE
RUSSIAN OBSERVERS ASSESS CONDI’S VISIT
The Russian press has been mulling the significance of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Moscow this week. And while most observers noted her criticism of the Kremlin for what she characterized as its excessive centralization of power and restrictions on the media,... MORE
PRIMAKOV’S RUSSIA/INDIA/CHINA TRIANGLE NEARS REALIZATION
Although the world media emphasized the proclamation of a Sino-Indian strategic partnership during Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's recent visit to New Delhi, it overlooked another equally important development. Wen Jiabao announced that three "influential countries" -- China, India, and Russia -- "share identical or similar... MORE
RUSSIA WILL SELL ERITREA ANTI-TANK MISSILES TO USE AGAINST ETHIOPIA’S RUSSIAN-MADE WEAPONS
Russia is apparently ready to flaunt its arms sales programs to countries at risk -- or who pose a risk -- of war and to do so in Africa. Recent reports announce that Moscow will continue modernizing Eritrean aircraft and sell Eritrea 80 of its... MORE
CIS, SHANGHAI GROUP HERALD COOPERATION DEAL
Following a series of recent setbacks, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) has been dismissed as an irrelevant institution. In an apparent attempt to reinvent itself, the CIS has clinched a fresh deal with the China-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Yet despite claims of "unanimity"... MORE
RUSSIA’S AIR DEFENSE FORCES AND NAVY BOAST IMPROVEMENTS
Improvements in Russia's air defense and naval capabilities, long overdue in the areas of technology and manpower, are serving to boost the overall image of the Russian military. Senior officers, disgruntled by the slow progress of military reform, point to the introduction or current use... MORE
SCHROEDER-PUTIN GAS DEAL UNDERCUTS BOTH NEW AND OLD EU MEMBER COUNTRIES
Opening the Hanover Trade Fair on April 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced agreement on a project to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany by a pipeline under the Baltic Sea. The two leaders had strongly encouraged the respective gas... MORE