Caught off guard no less than Egyptian authorities by the spontaneity of the anti-regime demonstrations that have swept Egypt, the ideologues of the Salafi-Jihadi trend have struggled to somehow incorporate these momentous events within the framework of the greater jihadi cause. While some Western commentators... MORE

Libyan President Colonel Qaddafi must be feeling the heat of the recent upheavals taking place around him. He has just seen the regime of President Bin Ali in Tunisia, a country that borders Libya to the west, overthrown by a popular uprising, followed by another... MORE

Russian mainstream media provides extensive coverage of the unfolding revolution in the streets of Cairo, in contrast with China where the word Egypt is banned from the news and blocked in the Internet. Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, is not known for his surfing skills but... MORE

The return of Muqtada al-Sadr to Iraq after more than three years of self-imposed exile and his unexpected January 21 departure for Iran only two weeks later have provoked speculation over the security implications of his activities in Iraq and his precise relations with Iran... MORE

Despite its absence and lack of impact on recent events in Tunisia, the Islamist shadow has hung over the revolution in Tunisia since its eruption in the town of Sidi Bouzid on December 17, 2010 led to the ouster of Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben... MORE

On the official website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (https://khamenei.ir/), the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, an edited audio statement was posted last year addressing a Palestinian group in which the Ayatollah predicates sweeping change in the region. In the recording, he declares that “with... MORE

Turkey has been following closely the unfolding popular “revolutions” in Tunisia and Egypt. While the Turkish public expressed support towards the masses demanding political liberalization, the Turkish government adopted a cautious approach initially, indicative of some of the contradictions that have been inherent in its... MORE

A $550 million contract for Kyiv to deliver 420 BTR-4 armored personnel carriers and six An-32 light military transport planes to Iraq, which was concluded in 2009, faces a crisis. Ukrspecexport, the Ukrainian state-controlled arms exporter, hoped that the first BTR-4’s shipped under the contract... MORE

Iraq’s director-general for anti-terrorism and organized crime operations, Major General Diya Husayn Sahi, recently told al-Arabiya TV that Iraqi citizen Taimur Abd al-Wahhab al-Abdali was given explosives training in the Iraqi city of Mosul for three months before his failed suicide bombing in Sweden last... MORE

Since responsibility for the “underwear bomber” and “toner bombs” was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the focus on the growth of al-Qaeda-linked organizations in Yemen has intensified. The two failed attacks have led to substantial increases in U.S. military aid to Yemen... MORE