After decades of loyalty to Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country’s best known and most controversial Islamic scholar has called for the regime’s downfall and the creation of an Islamic Caliphate in the southern Arabian Peninsula. The defection of the influential Shaykh Abd al-Majid... MORE

Yemeni Major General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar announced on March 21, 2011 that he was joining anti-government protesters in their calls for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down (Mareb Press, March 21, 2011). Ali Muhsin’s defection to the growing protest movement in his country... MORE

Turkey’s position on the unfolding events in Libya has caused a great deal of confusion for observers of Turkish foreign policy. Despite its objections to the use of military force to solve the impending civil war, Turkey has eventually changed course, by agreeing to the... MORE

Turmoil in the Arab world has elicited contrasting responses from the two sides of Georgia’s political opposition. Extra-parliamentary radical groups (themselves of varied colors) seem inspired to start yet another regime-change campaign. The parliamentary opposition, on the other hand, rejects the use of “revolutionary” methods... MORE

China’s rise on the international stage has been accompanied by an increase in its military's presence. Beijing's expanding ambition is prompting calls on the country's leaders to be more proactive in protecting its national interests. These calls by Chinese analysts have raised concerns about the... MORE

Following the departure of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on February 11 and the collapse of his regime, new faces and conflicts have appeared within the ranks of Egypt’s Islamist movement, including the Muslim Brotherhood.As with the larger Egyptian revolution, internal dissent first appeared on Facebook... MORE

Executive Summary:The future of Yemen is inextricably linked to the stability and security of Saudi Arabia.  With key figures in Yemen defecting to the opposition – including the ambassador to Saudi Arabia – and violence between the Saleh regime and anti-government forces escalating, Saudi Arabia... MORE

There are currently two arguments about what the recent uprisings across the Middle East mean for al-Qaeda.  The optimists argue that non-violent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt have stripped al-Qaeda’s narrative of its power. The pessimists counter that al-Qaeda is far from finished and will... MORE

In the early hours of Saturday, March 12, Yemeni security forces under the direction of Yemen’s Central Security Service (CSS) (which is commanded by Yahya Salih and is home to the U.S. funded and trained “counter-terror unit”) stormed the anti-government protesters’ camp near Sana’a University.... MORE

Iran has been steadily increasing its ties with Mongolia and 2010 was a year of increased Iranian overtures toward Ulaanbaatar. In another manifestation of how democratic Mongolia and Iran are looking towards substantially developing their economic ties, in early December 2010, it was announced that... MORE