Latest Articles about Middle East
DUMA DEPUTY BLAMES PUTIN FOR BESLAN MASSACRE
On February 6 Yuri Ivanov, a Communist deputy in the Russian State Duma, declared that President Vladimir Putin had personally ordered Russian forces to use grenade launchers to fire on a school building to end the siege in Beslan nearly three years ago. In September... MORE
THE IRANIAN TEST FOR PUTIN’S NEW COURSE
The report on Iran’s nuclear program that Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), presented to the UN Security Council on February 22 presents an inescapable challenge for Russia. The fact of Tehran’s non-compliance with Resolution 1737, adopted by the Security... MORE
KREMLIN MOVES TO REPAIR DAMAGED INTERNATIONAL IMAGE
Russian officials have strongly endorsed efforts to improve the country's tarnished international reputation. On February 21, Oleg Morozov, first deputy speaker of the State Duma, declared, "A negative image of Russia entails a lack of confidence in us, in our political system, in our economy,... MORE
SECESSIONIST LEADERS COORDINATE ACTIVITIES IN MOSCOW
Between February 16 and 21, the “presidents” of South Ossetia and Transnistria and the “foreign ministers” of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria paid overlapping visits to Moscow for talks with Russian government officials and in the State Duma. The three “foreign ministers” also conferred among... MORE
ETHNIC, SECURITY TENSIONS BUILDING IN MAKHACHKALA
On February 10, rebels attacked a group of Russian soldiers in the city of Buinaksk. The problem is a long-standing one. For nearly a decade, the republic has been a battleground for the pro-Russian authorities and Islamic insurgents supported by rebels from neighboring Chechnya. "Unfortunately,... MORE
Al-Suri’s Doctrines for Decentralized Jihadi Training – Part 1
The evolution toward smaller, more autonomous and decentralized organizational structures has been identified as a key trend in jihadi terrorism during the past few years [1]. Confronting amorphous structures and networks, which lack clearly identifiable organizational linkages and command structures and in which self-radicalization and... MORE
Iranian Involvement in Afghanistan
The Afghan media has published an increasing number of critical reports about Iran's secret contacts with insurgent groups in Afghanistan, specifically those groups fighting against the U.S. presence in the country. On September 5, for instance, the Pashto-language newspaper Weesa referred to unidentified local officials... MORE
Al-Suri’s Doctrines for Decentralized Jihadi Training – Part 2
Training jihadi recruits in the post-9/11 world is increasingly about finding a safe place where training is possible rather than discussing curricula, facilities, selection of recruits, instructors and related tasks [1]. In his voluminous treatise The Call to Global Islamic Resistance, published on the internet... MORE
The Reconstituted Al-Qaeda Threat in the Maghreb
In the first week of January 2007, the Moroccan government announced the dismantling of an alleged 62-person terrorist cell (Gulf Times, January 5). According to statements made by the government, this cell had "ideological links with and financial and logistical support for international terrorist groups"... MORE
Islamist Infiltration of the Moroccan Armed Forces
At the end of July 2006, Moroccan authorities dismantled Ansar al-Mahdi, a previously unknown terrorist group, and made initial arrests of 44 people. The number of arrestees later grew to 56 and spanned multiple cities in northern Morocco. The group itself was unique and included... MORE