Latest Articles about Middle East
Israel Accuses Syria of Smuggling Arms into Lebanon
Renewed Israeli claims that Syria continues to rearm Hezbollah in defiance of UN Resolution 1701 come at a time when there are fears in Israel that Arab groups in Gaza and the Golan Heights may be planning to emulate Hezbollah's tactics in last summer's fighting.... MORE
Islamic Army in Iraq Pursues Strategy of Negotiation and Violence
The Islamic Army in Iraq, a prominent insurgent group, is pulling away from the purely rejectionist trend of most Sunni Arab insurgents, refining its approach toward conducting the Iraqi insurgency. Instead of exclusively focusing on the military fight (as most Sunni insurgents have done), or... MORE
ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA: VICTIM OF A KREMLIN POWER STRUGGLE?
Various theories have circulated regarding who might have murdered the journalist Anna Politkovskaya on October 7, and why. According to these, she was targeted by nationalist extremists, or by Russian military officers that she had named in connection with human rights abuses in Chechnya, or... MORE
RUSSIAN POLITICS AND ECONOMICS FACE AN ENERGY CRISIS
Russian President Vladimir Putin endured a most unpleasant dinner with the EU heads of state and top officials last Friday (see EDM, October 20). The day before he departed for Lahti, Finland, he held one of the least successful meetings with the ministers and heads... MORE
Shifting Alliances in the Salafi Movement After the Lebanon War
The recent war in Lebanon could become a significant factor leading to a transformation within the Salafi movement in the Arab world. The conflict may also have a similar impact on Salafis as did the Gulf War of 1991. Transformations within the Salafi movement tend... MORE
EUROPE STRUGGLES TO THWART RUSSIA’S DIVIDE-AND-CONQUER POLICY
Today, October 20, leaders of the European Union countries gathered in Lahti, Finland, to try to forge a common Russia policy so that they can speak with a single voice at the EU-Russia summit next month. Europe’s unified strategy toward its giant eastern neighbor had... MORE
TWO MEETINGS, TWO TONES IN GUAM
Delegates of the GUAM member countries -- Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova -- held a meeting of their own during the October 17 Minsk session of the Commonwealth of Independent States Council of Foreign Ministers (see EDM, October 18). This informal GUAM meeting issued a firm... MORE
IS PUTIN BECOMING DESPERATE ABOUT BEING “BEST FRIENDS” WITH GERMANY?
Taking a short break from European affairs before a planned guest appearance at the EU summit in Lahti, Finland, tomorrow, October 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin has a moment to reflect on his achievements after making an extraordinary effort at strengthening ties with Germany. For... MORE
CIS ATROPHY PROCESS CONTINUES
The 15th, “jubilee” Commonwealth of Independent States summit of heads of state was to have been held in Minsk on October 16-17. However, it transpired as late as October 10 that the summit is being postponed, probably for late November, by a joint decision of... MORE
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons Emerges as a Rival to the PKK
On August 28, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (also known as the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, Teyrêbazên Azadiya Kurdistan, or TAK) set off several bombs in the Turkish cities of Marmaris, Istanbul and Antalya. The attacks, the latest in a series, killed three people and injured 21.... MORE