Latest Articles about Middle East
Assessing Shukrijumah’s Nuclear Plot Against the United States
Hamid Mir is loved, hated, revered and slandered by his fans and cautious observers alike. The Pakistani journalist has battled his way from the dregs of anonymity to the bright lights of evening programming, hosting the popular political talk show Capital Talk since 2002. What... MORE
Hassan Nasrallah and the Strategy of Steadfastness
When speaking about Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's political strategy, it is necessary to study the organization as a whole. According to Hezbollah's leaders, the party was born as a resistance movement, not as a political party in the classic sense. Nasrallah emphasizes the collective nature... MORE
Al-Qaeda’s Top Ideologues Release New Statements on the Global Jihad
The past week produced messages from the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who uses the name Abu Hamza al-Muhajir and may be an Egyptian by the name of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, and al-Qaeda deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. While there is nothing startlingly new in... MORE
Arrests May Cause Partnership between Ansar al-Sunnah and al-Qaeda in Iraq
The month of September was rife with reports detailing the arrests and killings of senior al-Qaeda officials and their associates in Iraq. In September alone, coalition forces arrested one al-Qaeda leader and killed another, arrested the leader of Ansar al-Sunnah and two of his associates,... MORE
Concerns Mount over Hezbollah’s Rearmament
As the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) completes its withdrawal this week from southern Lebanon, there are fears in Israel that the Hezbollah movement is consolidating and even expanding its arsenal, in contradiction to UN resolution 1701, which calls for the Shiite group to disarm. Hezbollah... MORE
ASSASSINATION OF POSSIBLE SOVMEN SUCCESSOR CLEARS THE WAY FOR KREMLIN CANDIDATE
During the evening of September 25, Murat Kudaev, head of the Krasnogvardeisk district of Adygeya, a republic in the North Caucasus, was returning home after a meeting of the Adygei government in Maykop, the local capital. When Kudaev approached Adamy, his native village in Krasnogvardeisk... MORE
SAKHALIN OIL AND GAS PROJECTS: WHAT IS BEHIND RUSSIA’S COERCIVE BEHAVIOR?
On September 18 a Russian high court ordered the temporary suspension of operations at the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas development project due to environmental considerations (Asahi Shimbun, September 18). The order followed a complaint filed by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, which claims that... MORE
PAUSE IN ENLARGEMENT CREATES STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY IN EUROPE AND RUSSIA’S COMMON NEIGHBORHOOD
An imminent halt in the European Union’s eastward expansion will create a new geopolitical reality in Russia and the EU’s overlapping neighborhoods. This week Brussels made two key decisions. First, Romania and Bulgaria were reluctantly green-lighted to join the EU in January. (The possible alternative... MORE
RUSSIA SEEKS ENTREE INTO EUROPE’S AVIATION MARKET
Recently Vneshtorgbank, Moscow’s state owned foreign trade bank, spent about a billion dollars to buy 5.02% of the shares of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Corporation (EADS). The revelation of this purchase is a clear sign, corroborated by press reports, that Moscow seeks a... MORE
LIGHT SENTENCES FOR HIGH-PROFILE RUSSIAN HAZING CASE
A high-profile military hazing trial in Chelyabinsk ended yesterday, September 26. Private Andrei Sychyov had his legs amputated last January after being abused in the barracks and is still hospitalized today. Three conscript soldiers were on trial in Chelyabinsk, though only Junior Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov... MORE