Latest Articles about Middle East
Is al-Qaeda Seeking Allies in Latin America?
U.S. officials have warned of a real danger Islamist extremists could form alliances with wealthy and powerful Latin American drug lords to launch new terrorist attacks against the United States. According to recent remarks made by Under Secretary of Intelligence and Analysis in the U.S.... MORE
Rumors of Assassination Attempt on Shaykh Nasrallah as Hezbollah Reconciles with Opponents
During the past week a rumor that Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Shaykh Hassan Nasrallah had survived a poisoning attempt quickly spread in both regional and global media. The report was originally disclosed by Iraqi website Almalaf on October 22. According to Almalaf, Hezbollah’s leader was in critical... MORE
RUSSIA, CHINA ESTABLISH STRONGER ECONOMIC TIES
Leaders of Russia and China hailed what they described as a bilateral strategic partnership, while the countries’ state-run energy giants are struggling to work out a compromise on energy prices. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, following a meeting in Moscow with his Chinese counterpart Wen... MORE
ECONOMIC “HAPPY TALK” FAILS TO SWAY DOUBTERS
Following on the heels of two of Russia’s top economic officials, the country’s top two leaders (readers can decide for themselves which is No. 1) have made statements aimed at calming the fears of both ordinary Russians and foreign investors. With the ruble having lost... MORE
MEDVEDEV’S ADDRESS IS RETURNED FOR REVISIONS
A major presidential performance had been scheduled for last week in the Kremlin, but it was postponed indefinitely at the last possible moment and without any convincing explanation. President Dmitry Medvedev was due to present his first annual address to the Federal Assembly on October... MORE
OFFICIALS OFFER REASSURANCES, BUT SOME FEAR A REPEAT OF 1998
In interviews over the weekend, top Russian economic officials sought to downplay fears that the global financial crisis would lead to a devaluation of the ruble and other dire consequences for Russia. Some observers, however, say Russian officials are playing down what lies ahead, and... MORE
Terrorism Comes to Damascus: Syria Faces its Own Islamist Threat
After a generation of internal stability Syria was struck by a terrorist attack in its capital of Damascus on September 27. According to an official Syrian source, 17 people were killed and 14 injured when a car bomb detonated in a crowded area on the... MORE
PKK Party Congress Sets Long-Term Strategy Based on Threat Perceptions
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan - PKK) was established in 1973 against the background of Cold War politics. In the formation of the PKK’s institutional culture and practices, the prevailing Marxist ideas and strategies adopted by other leftist movements of the time played... MORE
A Mujahideen Bleed-Through From Iraq? A Look at Syria
Al-Qaeda’s organizational goal in Iraq was to acquire contiguous territory from which to spread its influence and operatives, as well as those of its Islamist allies into the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and Turkey. Having been weaned as an insurgent in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden... MORE
“Doctor’s Plot” Trial Examines Unexpected Source for UK Terrorist Attacks
Londoners were awakened once again to the very real terrorist threat they faced late on the evening of June 29, 2007. In a callous move aimed at targeting revellers in a central London nightclub, terrorists left two improvised explosive devices in old Mercedes cars outside... MORE