Latest Articles about Middle East
Understanding Turkey’s Hesitation over the Kobane Crisis
In recent weeks the crisis over the beleaguered Syrian city of Kobane has been a major focus of world headlines, leading to increased scrutiny of Turkey’s policies toward Syria and Kobane in particular. To understand Turkey’s reluctance to intervene in Kobane, it is important to... MORE
Iran and the Anti-Islamic State Coalition
On September 15, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, announced on national TV that he had ruled out Iran’s participation in the U.S.-led military coalition to combat the Islamic State organization, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria... MORE
Moscow Suddenly Shows Concern About the Growing Influence in Russia of Islamic State
The recent meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Paris, on October 15, concluded on a positive note, according to the participants themselves. Secretary Kerry announced that Russia and the United States had agreed to an exchange... MORE
A Post-Mortem Analysis of Muhsen al-Fadhli – Former Head of Syrian AQ Affiliate Khorasan
In September, the United States conducted successful attacks against terrorist groups fighting in Syria. While the bulk of the strikes focused on the Islamic State organization, other missiles targeted the Khorasan Group, a splinter of Jabhat al-Nusra. The missiles not only leveled the group’s training... MORE
Number of Disillusioned North Caucasian Militants Returning From Syria Increases
International observers have paid much attention to the fact that many foreigners are fighting against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Tunisia holds first place among the countries of Asia and Africa, supplying volunteer fighters to the Syrian opposition forces (i100.independent.co.uk, September 11). Of the... MORE
The Geography of Discontent: Tunisia’s Syrian Fighter Dilemma
In June, Tunisia’s interior minister said that at least 2,400 Tunisian jihadists are fighting in Syria. The majority of them, about 80 percent, are allegedly fighting within the ranks of the Islamic State organization, previously the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), although some... MORE
Saudi Security Forces Crack Down on al-Qaeda and Islamic State
A U.S. citizen working for Vinnel Arabia, an American defense contractor, was shot dead and another wounded at a gasoline station in eastern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 14 (Bloomberg Businessweek, October 14). The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, D.C. issued a statement identifying the... MORE
Russia’s Push to the South—A Net Assessment of the Geopolitical Developments in the Black Sea Region Since the Start of 2014
The strategic implications of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine far transcend Ukraine, Russia, Poland and the Baltic States. They also prominently include the entire Black Sea littoral, including the Balkans, and even the Eastern Mediterranean. Historically, domination of the Black Sea opened... MORE
Circassian Activists Seek Allies as Ukrainian Refugees Are Resettled in the Region—A Net Assessment of the Situation in the Northwest Caucasus Since the Start of 2014
The Sochi Olympics and issues related to the refugees from Syria have dominated the political discourse in the Northwest Caucasus for most of this year. The surprising Russian-Ukrainian crisis has also had reverberations in this part of the Caucasus. Hostility between Kyiv and Moscow prompted... MORE
The Conflict in Syria and Iraq Spills Over Into Europe, With Chechen Participation
Yazidis, an Iraqi minority, have started arriving as refugees in Europe, where they encounter people who are supposedly causing their problems back at home, including the Chechens. A conflict between such refugees and Chechens erupted in the small German town of Celle, which is close... MORE