Latest Articles about Middle East
RUSSIA HAS VOTED AS ORDERED, NOW WHAT?
The big political event that happened in Russia yesterday, December 2, can hardly be called “elections,” since few of the 60 million Russians who cast their vote really cared about whom they were electing to the lower house of parliament. From the October 1 moment... MORE
FINANSGROUP: HOW RUSSIA’S SILOVIKI DO BUSINESS
Kommersant published an interview on November 30 that gave an unprecedentedly open and detailed picture of a financial structure that is close to the Kremlin siloviki and their putative leader, deputy Kremlin administration chief Igor Sechin. The interview with Oleg Shvartsman, head of the Finansgroup... MORE
CHEMIZOV TO HEAD NEW RUSSIAN ARMS CONGLOMERATE
This week Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill passed by parliament to create a new state corporation, Rostekhnologii. The corporation will take over the state arms trade monopoly, Rosoboronexport, and its assets, which include Russia’s biggest car-making company, Avtovaz; one of the... MORE
MKO Uses YouTube to Display Military Prowess
The November 15 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear program indicates that Tehran is still violating existing UN Security Council resolutions by continuing the construction of a heavy reactor and installing a total of 2,952 centrifuges needed for uranium enrichment.... MORE
PKK Leadership Under Pressure in the Post-Öcalan Era
Every year the number of attacks by and on the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) mounts, seemingly by the day. Relatively infrequently, though, the world is permitted a glimpse of the PKK’s shadowy mid- and upper-level leadership figures, those who have recruited, trained... MORE
MOSCOW CONCEDES NEED FOR MAJOR TRANSIT INVESTMENT
At the State Council's November 13 meeting in Krasnoyarsk, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that transportation infrastructure is strategically important for the country's economic growth. He conceded that the bulk of Russia's transportation facilities have become worn-out and obsolete, as most civilian planes, river ships,... MORE
IRAN PLAYS “GREAT GAME” POLITICS OVER TURKMENISTAN
International competition in Turkmenistan’s energy sector is supplying a pretext for Iran to remind Ashgabat of its need to preserve good relations with Tehran. A bilateral meeting held in Ashgabat on November 19, attended by senior foreign ministry officials from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, considered the... MORE
If Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Strike Back: The Case of Iraq
The recent move by the U.S. government to designate Iran’s most powerful military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as a terrorist organization reflects a tougher U.S. stance towards Tehran in response to its controversial nuclear program and military reach in the Middle East.... MORE
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood: Political Islam Without al-Qaeda
The September 11, 2001 attacks inspired an unprecedented upsurge of interest in Middle East and Islamic studies within academic, policymaking and security circles in the United States. Now, more than ever, Americans are seeking to understand the circumstances that culminated in the worst terrorist attacks... MORE
Strategic Implications for Northern Iraq’s Kurdish Oil Industry
Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Oil and Gas Law of the Kurdistan Region seems straightforward enough: “The Regional Government shall, together with the Federal Government, jointly manage Petroleum Operations … according to the provisions of the Federal Constitution” [1]. The law seems clear until... MORE