Latest Articles about Middle East
Iraqi Insurgents Claim New Generation of Missiles Being Used
In the short span of January 20 to February 7, four U.S. military and two private security firm helicopters were lost due to enemy ground fire in Iraq, raising concerns that insurgents have introduced new tactics or weapons in their battle against coalition air supremacy.... MORE
A POTEMKIN DEMOCRACY, A POTEMKIN FREE MARKET, AND A POTEMKIN ARMS RACE
Using language rarely heard since the Cold War, last week Russian President Vladimir Putin blasted the United States, European Union, NATO, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the West in general during a major policy speech at a security conference in Munich on... MORE
RUSSIAN MILITARY “MODERNIZING,” NOT REFORMING — IVANOV
On February 7 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told the State Duma that Russia will re-arm its armed forces, offering 5 trillion rubles to develop new hardware rather than simply maintaining the armed forces. The program will continue until 2015. More significantly, Ivanov reacted against... MORE
BAKU AND TEHRAN SIGN AGREEMENT ON TV AND RADIO BROADCASTING
On February 3, Azerbaijan’s minister of communications and information technology, Ali Abbasov, and the head of the Iranian State Broadcasting Agency, Ezzatollah Zarghami, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral media cooperation. The document was signed at the end of Zarghami’s four-day visit to... MORE
BIG BUSINESS IS INVITED TO THE KREMLIN FOR FRESH INSTRUCTIONS
Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s well-established ritual of demonstrating his power to loyal subjects, his annual meeting with business leaders was far heavier on symbolism than on substance. Most of the two dozen CEOs and owners of Russia’s largest companies who were invited to the... MORE
RUSSIA DEVELOPS ELECTRICITY, OIL PARTNERSHIP WITH CHINA
On Friday, February 9, the board of Unified Energy System, Russia’s power grid operator, approved a blueprint for large-scale electricity exports to China. UES is reportedly planning to increase electricity supplies to Northeastern China up to 3.6-4.5 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) from 2008 on. In the... MORE
CONTRADICTORY KREMLIN STATEMENTS THWART ATTEMPTS TO FORMULATE COMPREHENSIVE DEFENSE AND SECURITY POLICY
The Russian constitution requires the country to have a military doctrine. President Vladimir Putin signed the present doctrine in April 2000, after his election, but before his inauguration, making him legally still acting president (Nezavisimoe voennoe obozrenie, April 28, 2000). In January 2000, two weeks... MORE
IRAN SUGGESTS ACTING AS SECURITY GUARANTOR IN CENTRAL ASIA AND CAUCASUS
The headlines on Russo-Iranian relations at the end of January focused on Iran’s support for a “gas OPEC” and Russia’s reiteration of the idea that this is an attractive prospect that it needs to examine (www.president.ru, February 1, 2). However, this proposal is hardly news.... MORE
RUSSIA MAY DOUBLE OIL EXPORTS THROUGH THE BALTIC SEA
In its latest challenge to Europe’s energy security, Russia has confirmed the intention to increase its oil exports through the Baltic Pipeline System’s (BPS) maritime terminals by up to 100%. The recent, not yet resolved, confrontation with Belarus over the terms of overland transit ostensibly... MORE
PUTIN PLANS TO “STAY THE COURSE” FOR 2008
Russian President Vladimir Putin obviously enjoyed this year’s installment of his annual press conference. Held on February 1, the 2007 session set a new record of three and a half hours and included 69 questions. The crowd of 1,232 journalists was eager to play along,... MORE