By Lola Olimova and Nargis Hamrabaeva As Tajik government forces continue a security sweep to crush armed groups in the eastern mountains after losing 25 soldiers in an ambush, analysts are divided on the reasons for this resurgence in militant activity. Enquiries by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) indicate that the resistance is coming from local paramilitary forces led by guerrilla leaders from Tajikistan’s 1992-97 civil war. Claims by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, IMU, a militant group allied with the Taliban, that it was behind the attack are probably not entirely accurate but may contain a … Continue reading Tajikistan struggles to quell militants

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – Iraq recently broke a world record though its government vacuum, which has lasted since March, beating the Netherlands that stayed with no government for 208 days in 1977. The closest thing the Middle East had to such a record was Lebanon, which survived with no president from November 2007 to May 2008. The record – damning as it is – speaks volumes about how difficult and potentially explosive the situation is in Iraq, seven months after the world hailed its parliamentary elections as a beacon for democracy in the region. On Friday, optimists wrote about … Continue reading Iraq a house divided

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – Iraq recently broke a world record though its government vacuum, which has lasted since March, beating the Netherlands that stayed with no government for 208 days in 1977. The closest thing the Middle East had to such a record was Lebanon, which survived with no president from November 2007 to May 2008. The record – damning as it is – speaks volumes about how difficult and potentially explosive the situation is in Iraq, seven months after the world hailed its parliamentary elections as a beacon for democracy in the region. On Friday, optimists wrote about … Continue reading Iraq a house divided

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi “Russia’s long-term interests will not be served by participating in the US games.” – Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman. The indications are that Moscow has now joined the United States’ “strategic game” against Iran. As Tehran’s preoccupation grows over this unsettling issue about its northern neighbor and sole nuclear partner, rumors are circulating that authorities have interrogated several Russian technicians at the Russian-built Bushehr power plant over their possible involvement with the recent cyber-attack that infected staff computers at the facility. The Bushehr plant was due to open this month, but due to technical difficulties, … Continue reading Tehran alarm grows at Russia’s defection

By Kaveh L Afrasiabi “Russia’s long-term interests will not be served by participating in the US games.” – Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman. The indications are that Moscow has now joined the United States’ “strategic game” against Iran. As Tehran’s preoccupation grows over this unsettling issue about its northern neighbor and sole nuclear partner, rumors are circulating that authorities have interrogated several Russian technicians at the Russian-built Bushehr power plant over their possible involvement with the recent cyber-attack that infected staff computers at the facility. The Bushehr plant was due to open this month, but due to technical difficulties, … Continue reading Tehran alarm grows at Russia’s defection

By George Friedman The United States government issued a warning on October 3 advising Americans traveling to Europe to be “vigilant.” US intelligence apparently has acquired information indicating that al-Qaeda is planning to carry out attacks in European cities similar to those carried out in Mumbai, India, in November 2008. In Mumbai, attackers armed with firearms, grenades and small, timed explosive devices targeted hotels frequented by Western tourists and other buildings in an attack that took three days to put down. European security forces are far better trained and prepared than their Indian counterparts, and such an attack would be … Continue reading Terror warnings reveal limits of power

By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – Information supplied by a Pakistani-German jihadi led to the United States Predator drone attack in Pakistan on Monday in which at least eight other Germans were killed, Asia Times Online has learned. A senior Pakistani security official said the two missile strikes near the town of Mir Ali in the North Waziristan tribal area followed intelligence passed on by Rami Mackenzie, 27, during interrogation following his arrest in the middle of this year by Pakistani security officials in Bannu, the principal city of Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province. At the time of his … Continue reading Afghan war moves deeper into Pakistan