Recent attacks by al-Qaeda’s Yemeni branch, Kataeb Jund al-Yemen (Soldiers of Yemen Brigades), against oil facilities across Yemen indicate that al-Qaeda’s larger strategy to strike oil targets remains a top priority. On June 30 the group took credit for rocket attacks against an oil refinery... MORE

The Mahdi Army, the Shia militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, has recently undergone a significant transformation. On August 28, al-Sadr suspended the armed operations of the Mahdi Army (al-Jazeera, August 28). Al-Sadr's latest statement on the Mahdi militia follows a similar call in early August... MORE

Leading members of Russia’s marginalized liberal opposition have issued a statement criticizing the Russian government’s recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The statement, which was published by the Internet newspaper Yezhednevny zhurnal, was signed by, among others, Garry Kasparov, chairman... MORE

Very few features of the “five-day war” between Russia and Georgia testify to the proposition that common political sense prevailed over military opportunism: Russian tanks stopped outside Tbilisi; the Russian Navy did not try to blockade Batumi; and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline was left undamaged. The... MORE

Two terrorist attacks committed in Turkish port cities in only three days, one in Mersin (on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey) on August 19 and the second in Izmir (formerly known as Smyrna, on the Aegean Sea) on August 21, have highlighted the difficulty... MORE

European Union leaders will meet on September 1 in Brussels for a crisis summit in response to Russia’s war on Georgia. If allowed to succeed, the subjugation of Georgia will almost certainly be followed by steps to bring Ukraine and Moldova within a Russian sphere... MORE

A well-orchestrated surge of nationalistic pride seems to be driving Russia into a major confrontation with the West over the invasion of Georgia. The Russian media is full of brutal abuse, aimed at opponents of the invasion. State-sponsored propaganda has implied that the West is... MORE

In the global war on terror, international attention has largely been focused on terrestrial operations, but the sea remains a fertile ground for attack. As in many terror attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq, the favored tool of maritime terrorists is the suicide bomber, piloting a... MORE

With President Dmitry Medvedev having ordered a halt to Russia’s military assault on Georgia and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili agreeing to the general principles of a cease-fire plan negotiated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian observers have begun assessing the results and impact of the... MORE