Latest Articles about Middle East
Tactical and Strategic Factors in Turkey’s Offensive Against the PKK
A Turkish military offensive in the ethnic-Kurdish provinces of southeastern Turkey began in mid-September. Turkey's autumn campaigns against the militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) usually do not begin until October, but the current campaign is designed to reinforce Turkey's position in negotiations with... MORE
MOSCOW CONSIDERS ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES AGAINST CHINA
Moscow is facing an increasing deficit in bilateral trade with China. Russian industries have found themselves hard-pressed by Chinese competition, and business leaders are calling for the introduction of anti-dumping measures, indicating a looming trade dispute between the two neighbors. Russian officials have long recognized... MORE
WILL PUTIN STEP DOWN EARLY IN ORDER TO RUN AGAIN?
Over the last few weeks, President Vladimir Putin’s has elevated long-time associate Viktor Zubkov as prime minister, “accepted” the pro-Kremlin United Russia party’s “invitation” to head its list of candidates for the upcoming State Duma elections, and strongly hinted he may become prime minister (Putin... MORE
RUSSIA SETTING UP “COLLECTIVE PEACEKEEPING“ FORCES
On October 2 Russia’s Nikolai Bordyuzha, secretary-general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, told mass media that the CSTO is creating its own “peacekeeping” forces. The member countries are Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Bordyuzha outlined the political and military concepts underlying... MORE
Khamenei’s Move to Appoint Ali Jafari as Head of Revolutionary Guard
Recent warnings about the possibility of striking Iran's military and nuclear facilities as a consequence of its failure to make concessions on the nuclear issue—most notably by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner who said that France needed to prepare for the prospect of war—seem to... MORE
MOSCOW MEASURES THE NEW WESTERN UNITY ON IRAN
International issues have been overshadowed during the last three weeks as the Russian governmental crisis triggered an avalanche of speculation that has swept aside two stale presidential hopefuls – First Deputy Prime Ministers Dmitry Medvedev and Sergei Ivanov – and swirled around the new prime... MORE
KOZAK LEAVES MIXED RECORD AS PUTIN’S ENVOY IN THE RUSSIAN SOUTH
On September 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin reorganized his cabinet. Among the new appointments was Dmitry Kozak, who was named regional development minister. This ministry is tasked with working out the Russian government’s regional policies and monitoring relations between Russian regions and the federal center.... MORE
GIMF Develops Defensive and Offensive Software for Jihadi Operations
In July 2007, jihadi forums announced the creation of a new computer program called the Secrets of the Mujahideen, version 1.0. The objective of the program—which was published and distributed by the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) through many jihadi websites—is to replace the old... MORE
Tracking Yemen’s 23 Escaped Jihadi Operatives – Part 1
In mid-September, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued a stern warning to the Wa'ilah tribe in northern Yemen: turn over the six al-Qaeda suspects you are sheltering or face serious repercussions (al-Wasat, September 12). The six men that Saleh believes have found refuge with the... MORE
SERDYUKOV’S FAKE RESIGNATION
Russia’s new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, announced in Sochi last week that Acting Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov had submitted a letter of resignation to President Vladimir Putin. Zubkov said he had discussed the matter with Serdyukov, who is his son-in-law, and they had decided that... MORE