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AL QAEDA’S
RESURGENCE IN YEMEN
The al-Qaeda terror network is reportedly working to consolidate and expand its
presence in Yemen under one of bin Laden’s original “secretaries.” Nair al
Wahayshi – a bin Laden confidant from the Afghan-Soviet war of the 1980s – is
busy implementing a new, “no-holds-barred” approach to jihad in Yemen. Yemen
received al Wahayshi via extradition from Iran in 2003, before the jihadist
staged an audacious 23-man escape from a Sanaa prison in 2006. Since then,
Wahayshi has rallied al-Qaeda in Yemen’s “second generation” into a “more
strident, better organized and more ambitious [group] than it has ever been
before.” (Jamestown
Foundation Terrorism Focus, March 18, 2008)
SYRIA’S KURDS ON EDGE
The killing of three Kurdish civilians during celebration of the Kurdish New
Year has heightened ethnic tensions in Syria, where Kurds have been marginalized
for decades. At 10 percent of the population, Syria’s Kurdish minority should be
too large to ignore; yet that is exactly what the government in Damascus has
tried to do. Following a national census in the 1960s, Syria “stripped some 20%
of the Kurds of their citizenship in an effort to Arabize the population.” To
quell any potential unrest in the wake of the killings, Syria has now deployed
10,000 troops to its Kurdish-dominated north. (Jerusalem
Post, March 23, 2008)
A NEW NUCLEAR CLIENT FOR MOSCOW?
Egypt has granted Russia permission to bid on the contracts for up to four
planned nuclear power stations. The potentially lucrative agreement would
provide a boost to Russia’s nuclear sector and further expand the Kremlin’s
influence in the region. Vladimir Putin’s personal visit to Egypt to sign the
deal looked like a bid to do just that; the Russian president is lobbying to
host his own Moscow peace conference to mirror Washington’s Annapolis
conference. “Taking into account growing Israeli-Palestinian tensions, we
believe there is a need for a mediatory role from Egypt and Russia,” Mr. Putin
has said. (Doha
Al-Jazeera, March 25, 2008)
THE BATTLE FOR BASRA
Nouri al-Maliki’s sudden late March clampdown on Shi’ite militias has opened up
a new front in the struggle for power in the former Ba’athist state. On March
23rd, the Iraqi prime minister ordered a major assault on the Mahdi Army of
firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr in Basra, the country’s wealthiest, and second
largest, city. The results of the offensive are still inconclusive; despite a
week of heavy fighting and more than 500 casualties, Sadr’s forces remain active
- and defiant. Maliki is sticking to his political guns, however. His goal? An
outright end to the powerful Shi’ite militia. "Solving the problem comes in no
other way than dissolving the Mehdi Army," the Iraqi premier has told CNN. "They
no longer have a right to participate in the political process or take part in
the upcoming elections unless they end the Mehdi Army." (Reuters,
April 7, 2008)
A CONSTITUTIONAL SHOWDOWN IN TURKEY
Turkey may be facing its most serious political crisis in nearly two decades now
that the country’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that challenges the
constitutional legality of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP). The
case arises from a 162-page indictment filed against the AKP by the chief
prosecutor of the country’s Supreme Court of Appeals, which accuses the Islamist
political party of “anti-secular activities.” The move reflects growing concern
among Turkey’s secular establishment – still dominant in the courts and military
– over the AKP’s moves to gradually Islamicize Turkish society, highlighted by
the recent removal of a ban on Muslim headscarves in public universities.
The stakes in the case are high. Seventy-one members of the AKP, including the
Prime Minister and President, could be subject to an outright ban on political
activity, and many Turks fear the constitutional deadlock – which could drag on
for over a year – could lead to a prolonged period of political and economic
stability, damaging the nation’s chances for eventual EU membership. (Christian
Science Monitor, April 4, 2008) |
