Latest Articles about Middle East
CHOOSING AN ENEMY, CHOOSING A STRATEGY, CHOOSING A DOCTRINE
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced that the number of servicemen in the armed forces would be decreased from the present 1.13 million to one million by 2013. According to Serdyukov, "The previously approved concept scheduled a decrease in numbers to 1.1 million by 2011 and... MORE
EU-RUSSIA SUMMIT TARGETS NEW PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The European Union-Russia summit on June 26 and 27 in Khanty-Mansiisk set the stage for negotiations toward a new basic document on EU-Russia relations. Concluding such an agreement is almost certainly a higher priority for Russia than for the EU. The EU might have used... MORE
…WHILE GLOSSING OVER POST-SOVIET CONFLICTS
The unresolved conflicts, conducted or underwritten by Russia in ex-Soviet territories, were glossed over in Khanty-Mansiisk. EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana had informally assured Georgian leaders ahead of the summit that he would “forcefully” take issue with Russia’s... MORE
Turkey and Iraqi Kurds Agree to Disagree on PKK’s Terrorist Status
In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Tempo, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani stated that “the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] is not a terrorist organization.” Barzani also added that “if the PKK rejects Turkey’s commitment to hold talks with it, the PKK can... MORE
RUSSIA EXPLOITS EU’S VULNERABILTIES AT EU-RUSSIA SUMMIT
The European Union played its cards ineptly at the EU-Russia summit in Khanty-Mansiisk on June 26 and 27. Moscow managed to define the atmosphere and rules of the game at this summit, taking advantage of the EU’s multiplying vulnerabilities. That those vulnerabilities are mostly self-inflicted... MORE
MEDVEDEV’S SWEET-TALKING NARROWS THE RIFT IN RUSSIA-EU RELATIONS
President Dmitry Medvedev has every reason to consider the Russia-EU summit in Khanty-Mansiisk last week a personal success, judging from how his European partners have praised the friendly atmosphere and very constructive character of the talks. EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security... MORE
POLLING FINDS WELL-OFF YOUNG RUSSIANS THINKING ABOUT EMIGRATION
While Russia’s economy and its citizens’ real incomes have grown significantly over the past eight years (at least in part thanks to soaring world energy prices), Nezavisimaya gazeta recently reported that new research suggests that this increase in economic well-being has not been accompanied by... MORE
The Mahdi Army: New Tactics for a New Stage
Iraqi radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has issued a statement describing a new strategy for attacking Coalition forces (alkufanews.com, June 13). The statement follows a year of intense military pressure against his Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) militia and a series of confusing and sometimes contradictory decisions.... MORE
Is There a Nexus between Torture and Radicalization?
A great deal of debate surrounds the factors driving the brand of radical Islam in the Middle East that inspires some individuals to commit acts of violence. A recurring theme in extremist discourse is opposition to incumbent authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. For radical... MORE
THE KREMLIN PROMOTES EASTERN PIPELINE PROJECT
The Kremlin is giving its strong support to the construction of the Eastern Siberia Pacific Oil Pipeline (ESPO), apparently viewing it as an important economic and foreign policy tool. The pipeline was planned to promote faster growth of the Russian Far East, and Russian President... MORE