Putin’s Corrupt Ruling Elite Fear the Fate of Arab Dictatorships

As Western nations and the Arab League are pressing a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that seeks to ease President Bashar al-Assad out of power and condemn the regime for its violence against protesters, Russia...

A Snapshot of Brigadier Ijaz Shah: Bin Laden’s ISI Handler

Brigadier Ijaz Shah (Retd.), one of Pakistan’s most notorious spies, may not be a militant or terrorist in a practical sense of the word, but he is alleged to have been linked with some of the most high profile terrorists and the...

Why the Arab Spring Passed By Contested Kirkuk

Kirkuk’s Sunni Arab parties are not happy over the recent decisions of the Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki and the Iraqi cabinet to turn the U.S. military base at Kirkuk into a civilian airport, to approve 1,400 new police officers...

BRIEFS

AFGHANISTAN’S TALIBAN DECLARE VICTORY AS PEACE INITIATIVES GET UNDER WAY

The opening of an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan office in Qatar as the first step in a Qatar-backed Afghan reconciliation process has been interpreted by...

Moscow Faces Unpleasant Dilemma in Dealing with the Syrian Circassian Issue

On January 22, the Circassian activist organization Adyge Khase-Circassian Parliament met in Adygea’s capital Maikop and resolved to hold a conference on the repatriation of Circassians from Syria. The conference is expected to...

Turkey Works to Prevent Sectarian Rift in Iraq

As Turkey struggles to avert crises involving its neighbors Syria and Iran, Iraq has emerged as yet another issue that needs immediate attention from Turkish diplomacy. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s recent remarks...

Russian Capability to Project Influence Dwindles

On January 8, a Russian aircraft carrier group led by the Admiral Kuznetsov made a short visit to the Syrian port of Tartus, where Russia has maintained a small naval supply base since the Cold War. The Kuznetsov had sailed from...

Is al-Qaeda Infiltrating Syria through Lebanon’s Beka’a Valley?

Disputes over the possible presence of al-Qaeda in Lebanon’s Beka’a Valley are beginning to destabilize Syrian-Lebanese relations.  Attention on the Beka’a region has intensified following the December 23, 2011 and January...