Latest Articles about Middle East
Putin Trapped in an Escalatory Spiral of His Own Making
The tweet by United States President Donald Trump, canceling his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was such a shock for the Kremlin that a response was postponed until “official information” would arrive (RIA Novosti, November 29).... MORE
Russian Caspian Flotilla’s Capacity to Project Force Threatens Littoral States and Ukraine
Moscow has been expanding the size and capabilities of its Caspian Flotilla. Most directly, this has implications for the Caspian littoral states and their development of oil and natural gas from the Caspian seabed. But it also impacts Ukraine and its coastline because the Russian... MORE
Khashoggi, the Hudaydah Offensive and Prospects for Peace in Yemen
Saudi Arabia’s dubious military tactics in Yemen have long been underreported and have drawn surprisingly little scorn from international leaders. The death of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, however, has led many Western nations to... MORE
Jihadism in Jordan
On August 10, one police officer was killed and six civilians were wounded in al-Fuheis, Jordan when an IED detonated near a police vehicle (Alaraby, August 11). The attack prompted a swift response from the security forces, which identified the suspected perpetrator's hideout in al-Salt.... MORE
Colonel Haitham Jamil al-‘Afisi—Turkey’s Syrian Rebel Commander
Turkey has begun to pay benefits to the families of Syrian armed opposition fighters who were killed or wounded fighting alongside Turkish forces during the August 2016 Operation Euphrates Shield and the March 2018 Operation Olive Branch. These operations were conducted against the ethnic Kurdish-majority... MORE
The Propagandist from the Maldives—Bilad al-Sham Media’s Abu Ayyub al-Maaldifi
The Maldivian government has engaged in an effort to restrain radicalized youths from joining jihadists groups in Syria and Iraq. Despite these efforts, the total number of Maldivians fighting in the Syrian civil war has reached 61. According to the island nation’s National Counter Terrorism... MORE
Egypt Declares its Success in Dismantling Islamist Militancy
Eleven militants were killed by Egyptian security forces on October 24 in the latest of a series of preemptive attacks. The raid took place at a mountainous hideout located in the desert adjacent to Asyut province, 200 miles from Cairo (Al-Ahram, October 25). Five days... MORE
Russia’s Connection to Saudi Arabia Intensifies
Even without the enormous scandal of the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi hit men allegedly operating under state auspices, late October 2018 has been especially eventful for Saudi Arabia. In particular, Riyadh announced two major investments into Russian funds (RT, October 23;... MORE
Turkey, Russia Resurrect a ‘Concert of Europe’ to Resolve Syrian Crisis
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted a summit in Istanbul, on October 27, which brought together President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. The four European leader gathered to try to formulate a solution to the Syrian... MORE
Russia’s Network-Centric Warfare Capability: Tried and Tested in Syria
Since initiating the reform of the Russian Armed Forces in 2008, Moscow has paid close attention to the development of its own network-centric warfare capability. Elements of this version of network-centric approaches to combat operations have involved strengthening electronic warfare (EW) capacity, modernizing infrastructure, reforming... MORE