As Its Arms Industry Withers, Russia Buys Abroad – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in March 12th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Military, Russia, China, Decline, Deleterious Effect, Engineering Departments, Export Contracts, Factories, India, Legacy, Middle East, Military Industry, Nytimes, Profits, Russia, Russian Industry, Soviet Union

Many experts say the decline began with the end of the Soviet Union. When Russia became capitalist, they say, so did its military industry. Like much of Russian industry, it was privatized haphazardly. For example, factories and the engineering departments that designed what these factories made were sold separately.
Over time, this had a deleterious effect [...]

Fears that Iran Wants to Trigger Mideast War

Posted by Matt in March 11th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Iran, Israel, Middle East, War, Allies, Confrontation, Economic Sanctions, Envision, Fears, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Mideast War, Neighbors, New War, Nuclear Activities, Sanctions On Iran, Syria, tehran, United States, West Bank, World Citizen

As the United States steps up its campaign to impose economic sanctions on Iran, fears are growing in Washington and in the Middle East that Iran will try to trigger a new war in the region in order to shift attention from its nuclear activities, throw the U.S. and its allies off balance, and put [...]

The Middle East’s Hair Trigger – Project Syndicate

Posted by Matt in March 3rd, 2010 | no comment

Published in Israel, Middle East, War, Actors, Conventional Wisdom, Hair Trigger, Legitimacy, Loggerheads, Middle East, Project Syndicate, Regimes

Across the Middle East, a fatalistic conventional wisdom is taking hold: war is unavoidable. Some see war as a way of resolving an increasingly deadlocked situation, shaking up a dysfunctional regional order whose main actors are not only at loggerheads, but are also incapable of resolving the legitimacy deficits of their respective regimes.
The Middle East’s [...]

Nuclear Iran Would Spur Regional Arms Race, Israel’s Barak Says – BusinessWeek

Posted by Matt in February 28th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Iran, Nuclear, Amanpour, Businessweek, Cnn, Egypt, Ehud Barak, Iran Nuclear, Israel, Israeli Defense Minister, Middle East, Nuclear Weapons, Saudi-Arabia, Turkey

Saudi Arabia would obtain nuclear weapons within a “few months” as part of a broader Middle East arms race if Iran develops nuclear weapons, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said today.
A nuclear-armed Iran would result in “an intensive nuclear wave in the Middle East,” Barak said on CNN’s “Amanpour” program. Turkey and Egypt would probably [...]

Iran: Finish Off [Israel] “Once and For All” if it Strikes

Posted by Matt in February 11th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Iran, Israel, Finding A Way, Gaza, Hizbullah, Iran, Iranian President Mahmoud, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Irib, Lebanon, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Military Operation, Phone Conversation, President Bashar Assad, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Reuters, State Broadcaster, Syrian Counterpart, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Wednesday Evening, Zionist Regime

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel “must be resisted” and finished off “once and for all” if it launches a military operation in the Middle East, Reuters cited an Iranian report as saying on Thursday.
“We have reliable information … that the Zionist regime is after finding a way to compensate [...]

Fiery rhetoric fuels Mideast war fears – UPI.com

Posted by Matt in February 10th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Middle East, War, damascus, Foreign Minister, hezbollah, Inflammatory Rhetoric, Lebanon, Lieberman, Many Fear, Middle East, Mideast War, Militia, Regime, Regional Conflict, Syria, Upi

Tough-talking Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has raised the temperature in the Middle East by warning the Damascus regime it will fall if Syria gets involved in the regional conflict that many fear is now brewing.
As the inflammatory rhetoric on both sides becomes more strident, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon has gone on alert.
Fiery rhetoric [...]

Israel Coming Unhinged? A Loose Cannon in a Volatile Region

Posted by Matt in February 7th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Israel, Middle East, Conflagration, Credence, Israel, Levant, Loose Cannon, Middle East, Pundits, Regional Battle, Volatile Region, Whispers

Another war is looming in the Middle East, say the pundits. It is hard to ignore the whispers — now louder — when they are regularly punctuated by hostile statements from various officials in the region, leading further credence to a possible conflagration.
The likely site of the newest regional battle is the Levant. Funnily enough, [...]

MIDDLE EAST: Looming regional war involving Syria, Israel and Lebanon — or more hot air? | Babylon & Beyond | Los Angeles Times

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Middle East, Amp, Babylon, Few Days, Governments, Hot Air, Israel, Lebanon, Los Angeles Times, Middle East, Regional War, Sake, State Security, Status Quo, Syria

This is not more hot air, but the article seems to imply it.
Israel and Syria have exchanged heated words in the last few days, leading many to wonder whether this new round of threats is leading up to a regional war, or is merely a bluffing contest to maintain the status quo that allows both [...]

Israel pushing Middle East to war: Syria’s Assad – washingtonpost.com

Posted by Matt in February 3rd, 2010 | no comment

Published in Israel, Syria, War, Bashar Al Assad, Bashar Assad, Foreign Minister, Israel, Israel War, Middle East, Miguel Angel Moratinos, President Bashar, Syria, Syrian News Agency, Syrian President Bashar Al, War Peace, Washingtonpost

“All the facts point that Israel is driving the region toward war, not peace,” the official Syrian news agency quoted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as saying during a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
“Israel is not serious about wanting peace,” he added.
Israel pushing Middle East to war: Syria’s Assad – washingtonpost.com

‘Israeli hit’ in Gulf may spark blood feud – UPI.com

Posted by Matt in February 1st, 2010 | no comment

Published in Israel, Blood Feud, Bloodshed, Dubai, Eye For An Eye, Fundamentalist, Gaza Strip, Gulf Emirate, Hamas, Hamas Leader, Intelligence Service, Israel, Jan 19, Mahmoud, Middle East, Mossad, Palestinian Group, Upi

The assassination of a senior Hamas leader, apparently by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, on Jan. 19 may well trigger a surge of eye-for-an-eye bloodshed — and not just in the Middle East.
The fundamentalist Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza Strip, has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in [...]