Latest Articles about Middle East
Turkish Crackdown on Homegrown al-Qaeda Cells in Gaziantep
A major crackdown against alleged al-Qaeda militants in southern Turkey that left four militants and one policeman dead on January 24 has proven two things: homegrown Islamic militants still pose a serious threat in this secular but Muslim nation, and the police—aware of the danger—are... MORE
AUSTRIA’S OMV UTILIZING AND SABOTAGING THE EU AT THE SAME TIME
Austria’s state-dominated OMV energy company is pursuing a two-track policy in relation to the European Union. On one track, OMV seeks the support of EU institutions and legal mechanisms to force a takeover of Hungary’s private-owned MOL energy company, which has consistently bested OMV in... MORE
MOSCOW SIGNS SERIES OF AGREEMENTS WITHIN EURASIAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY FRAMEWORK
On January 25, the prime ministers of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan signed nine trade agreements. These addressed export customs duties, unified customs and tariff regulations, unified rules to determine the countries of origin of goods, unified measures of non-tariff regulation, anti-dumping and protective measures, determination... MORE
ALEKSANYAN’S PLIGHT: A CASE OF THE “LEGAL NIHILISM” MEDVEDEV HAS VOWED TO FIGHT?
On February 1 Moscow’s Simonovsky District Court ordered former Yukos executive Vasily Aleksanyan, who claims to have been denied treatment for AIDS while in prison, to remain jailed while being tried on charges of embezzlement and money laundering. Aleksanyan is incarcerated in Matrosskaya Tishina, the... MORE
PRESIDENTIAL TRANSPLANTATION IN RUSSIA ENTERS FINAL PHASE
In less than a month 109 million Russian voters are going to elect a new president. But while the Russian political class has been anxiously anticipating the March 2 vote for the last four years, there are strikingly few overt signs of the impending event.... MORE
Jihadist Groups Still Active During Political Crisis in Lebanon
Recent terrorist attacks targeting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and U.S. embassy personnel in Beirut come as security measures are heightened in response to a series of assassinations and a rapidly deteriorating political crisis in the country. While UNIFIL forces have been... MORE
Mass Arrests Expose Operations of Turkey’s “Deep State”
The detention in Istanbul last week of alleged members of a shadowy Turkish ultranationalist group has revived charges that elements within the Turkish security apparatus have long tried to destabilize the country through a campaign of bombings and assassinations. These allegedly include false flag operations... MORE
RUSSIA REINFORCES RESTRICTIONS ON OSCE/ODIHR AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Vladimir Putin’s handpicked successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is set to become president of Russia without a properly monitored election. Although the March 2 election’s landslide denouement cannot be doubted, Russia is set to demonstrate conclusively that it can force the OSCE out of the election-observation business.... MORE
ROGOZIN TAKES UP NEW PORTFOLIO IN BRUSSELS
This week the outspoken anti-Western nationalist politician Dmitry Rogozin, 44, arrived in Brussels as Russia’s permanent representative to NATO. Rogozin replaces former Border Guard chief General Konstantin Totsky (see EDM, October 31, 2007). In December 2003, Rogozin was elected to the State Duma as leader... MORE
WILL RUSSIA’S NEXT ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN SUCCEED WHERE OTHERS FAILED?
In his January 22 speech to the Civic Forum, a gathering of representatives from Russian non-governmental organizations and other groups sponsored by the Kremlin-appointed Public Chamber, President Vladimir Putin’s likely successor declared that the fight against corruption must become a “national program.” First Deputy Prime... MORE