Understanding why Hizbullah refused to take over Lebanon is key not only for understanding Hizbullah but also for understanding Hamas, Fatah and the insurgency in Iraq.
A compelling answer to this question is found in David Galula’s classic work, Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice. Galula, who died in 1967, was a lieutenant colonel in the French [...]

read more....

Iran’s disputed nuclear program has sent a wave of interest in atomic energy across the Middle East, a think tank said Tuesday, warning that it risked setting the scene for a regional nuclear arms race.
At least 13 Middle Eastern countries either announced new plans to explore atomic energy or revived pre-existing nuclear programs between February [...]

read more....

Asked about plans for a cartel, Bouteflika said: “It’s clear that countries such as Russia, Qatar and Algeria already play a major role on international gas markets and they should coordinate their activities even more.”
He said that the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), set up in Tehran in 2001, should “play a more active role” [...]

read more....

Algeria has demanded that Moscow take back several MiG fighter jets supplied under a major arms deal because of quality concerns, dealing a painful blow to Russian pride, news reports said Tuesday.
The effort to return the planes, which is expected to top the agenda of visiting Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s talks Tuesday in the Kremlin, [...]

read more....

For years, Israel was the only country in the entire Middle East with a nuclear program. That’s about to change. The list of Arab states that are actively pursuing nuclear power, or seriously considering doing so, is a long one: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and the seven [...]

read more....

Newly declassified U.S. government documents confirm the U.S. government suspected China was helping Algeria build a secret facility in 1991 for developing nuclear weapons.
The 15-megawatt reactor is now a research center about 80 miles south of the Algerian capital of Algiers, and has been brought under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) controls.
However, the once-classified reports [...]

read more....

With the world’s attention focused on the Iranian nuclear program, little heed is being paid to a new wave of nuclear development plans on Europe’s doorstep, exemplified in moves to expand Algeria’s nuclear program, which many believe is intended to create a nuclear weapons capacity.
As Algeria emerges from over a decade of internecine bloodshed, prospects [...]

read more....

Qatar is to launch the first market for trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) amid fears that the world’s gas-exporting countries are forging closer links that could lead to the formation of a gas cartel.
The Gulf emirate is seeking to capture global trade in the world’s fastest-growing energy commodity with the creation of an LNG [...]

read more....

Moscow’s growing attention to the Middle East continues, part of a new global strategy espoused by a more assertive and ambitious Russia. President Vladimir Putin pays much more attention to the region than his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, ever did. In the last two years, he has paid a historic first visit to Israel, visited oil- [...]

read more....

Russia and Algeria are developing a new package of military contracts with a total value of $7 billion. Algeria sent Russia an official invitation this month to participate in tenders for the building of a frigate and joint construction of other new ships. If the contract package is signed, it will make Algeria Russia’s largest [...]

read more....

With common trepidation substituting for a common policy, the West is awaiting the Gas-Exporting Countries’ Forum (GECF) meeting on April 9 in Doha, Qatar. It will be the group’s sixth meeting in almost as many years, but it is the first meeting that might result in a momentous decision to create a cartel-type organization that [...]

read more....