Latest Articles about Middle East
The Man in Nasrallah’s Shadow: A Profile of Sheikh Naim Qasim
Sheikh Naim Qasim, the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, is one of the most interesting politicians in Lebanon. He is also one of the most under-covered by the Western media because he remains overshadowed by the towering influence of his boss, the charismatic 46-year-old Sheikh Hassan... MORE
The Lord of the Marshes Takes a Mediating Role in Iraq
The "Lord of the Marshes" is a name that evokes a mythic image of one of Iraq's most illustrious resistance fighters. Abd Karim al-Mahmud Muhamedawi, also known as Abu Hatem, is a legendary figure inside Iraq but is little known to the outside world. A... MORE
RUSSIAN COAST GUARD SHOOTS JAPANESE FISHERMAN IN DISPUTED WATERS
A border incident has reignited the decades-long territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo. Russian border guards fired on a Japanese boat in disputed waters, killing a fisherman, for allegedly poaching in Russian territorial waters. Japan responded with a “strong protest” to Moscow. Moscow has insisted... MORE
IT LOOKS, SOUNDS, FEELS LIKE A BLOCKADE: RUSSIAN OIL BLOCKADE OF LITHUANIA
Ignored by Western believers in Russia’s reliability as an energy supplier, the Russian government is attempting to either bankrupt or capture the oil concern Mazeikiai in Lithuania. The holding’s centerpiece, the Mazeikiai refinery, is the only refinery in the three Baltic states and largest economic... MORE
LITHUANIAN REFINERY IS STRUGGLING TO STAY AFLOAT DESPITE RUSSIAN PRESSURE
Russia’s state-run monopoly Transneft has warned that it might indefinitely shut down the pipeline feeding Lithuania’s largest oil refinery, Mazeikiai Nafta. At the end of July, Transneft stopped providing crude to Mazeikiai, citing damage in the section of the Druzhba-1 pipeline (see EDM, August 3).... MORE
The London Plot: A Tactical Victory in an Eroding Strategic Environment
On August 10, the British police and security services scored an impressive tactical counter-terrorism victory with the arrest of 24 British subjects—most of Pakistani ethnicity or origin—who had planned to destroy 10 airliners in flight over the Atlantic Ocean. The arrests capped what has been... MORE
Hezbollah’s Creative Tactical Use of Anti-Tank Weaponry
As the world waits to see if the UN-brokered ceasefire in Lebanon holds, the Israeli army will begin assessing its disappointing performance against Hezbollah guerrillas. Among the many aspects to be investigated is the vulnerability of Israel's powerful armored corps to small, hand-held, wire-guided anti-tank... MORE
RUSSIA EYES YET ANOTHER GAS PIPELINE TO CHINA
Apart from preparing to build the Altai gas pipeline from Western Siberia, Russian authorities have also indicated plans to build a new gas pipeline from Sakhalin to neighboring China along a network of gas pipelines to supply domestic consumers in Russia's Far East. After meeting... MORE
RUSSIA WRAPPING UP ITS WAR AGAINST TERROR
The outstanding success of the British secret services in foiling a terrorist plot that could have claimed hundreds of lives did not fail to make headlines in the Russian media. Newspapers emphasized particularly the fact that all detained suspects were young Muslims of Pakistani origin... MORE
Lessons from al-Qaeda’s Attack on the Khobar Compound
The terrorist attack on Khobar, Saudi Arabia—the hub of the Saudi oil industry—by four al-Qaeda operatives on May 29, 2004, provided a significant morale boost for al-Qaeda. The attack resulted in the deaths of 22 foreigners. The jihadi forums used this attack to boast about... MORE