In Apocalyptic Vandalism, ISIL blows up 800-year-old Nuri Mosque in Mosul
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - al-Hayat (Life) reports that on Wednesday evening…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - al-Hayat (Life) reports that on Wednesday evening…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The epic battle in the Trump White…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Yara Bayoumi at Reuters reports on the…
Foreign Policy
In Apocalyptic Vandalism, ISIL blows up 800-year-old Nuri Mosque in Mosul
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - al-Hayat (Life) reports that on Wednesday evening around 9:30 pm local time, Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) blew up the Nuri Mosque in Mosul. The…All Signs from Trump Point to a Coming Conflict with Iran
By John Feffer | Foreign Policy in Focus | - - Behind all of Trump's boneheaded policies in the Middle East is an unmistakable urge for confrontation with Iran. The Saudi war…Will New Crown Prince in Riyadh Usher in Open Saudi-Israeli Alliance?
TeleSur | - - The young Saudi king-in-waiting has been hailed as a "modernizer" for his open support of normalizing ties with the Israeli occupation, first and foremost. The Gulf Arab “game…The Millennial’s Palace Coup in Saudi Arabia: How Dangerous?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The epic battle in the Trump White House between Jared Kushner, the Orthodox Jewish son-in-law, and Steve Bannon, the alt-NeoNazi White House strategist,…Trump’s Love Affair With the Saudis
By William D. Hartung | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - At this point, it’s no great surprise when Donald Trump walks away from past statements in service to some impulse of the…1/2 of World’s Civilian War Deaths were in Syria, Iraq & Yemen during past Half-Decade
By IPS World Desk | (Inter Press Service) | - - ROME/GENEVA (IPS) - Between 2010 and 2015, nearly half of all civilian war deaths worldwide occurred in Syria, Iraq and Yemen,…Russo-US dog fights over Syria?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Yara Bayoumi at Reuters reports on the complicated minuet being danced by Russia, the Syrian Air Force, and the United States. The Syrian…Habitual Labor abuser Saudi Arabia elected to UN body Promoting Workers
By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com ) | - - In a grotesque development earlier this week, Saudi Arabia – a world leader in the exploitation of migrant workers – won a…Did Trump see the Real Jerusalem or only the Museum Version?
Shalom L. Goldman | (Informed Comment) | - - On Donald Trump’s two- day visit to Jerusalem in late May, a visit which disrupted commercial and cultural life in both the Jewish…Top Five things to know about Sharia (Muslim Canon Law)
Asma Afsaruddin | (The Conversation) | - - Editor’s note: A conservative grassroots organization, ACT for America, organized a “March against Sharia” in at least 20 cities across the United States on…What can today’s Activists learn from the Summer of Love and the New Left?
Ira Chernus | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - It’s the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love. What better place to celebrate than that fabled era’s epicenter, San Francisco’s Golden Gate…Putin’s End Game in Syria
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Syrian press is watching Oliver Stone's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and likes what it sees. Syria's al-Watan (The Nation) reports…Have Syria’s Kurds invented a Democratic Neo-Socialism?
Dmitry Petrov | (OpenDemocracy.net) | - - In an effort to get through to the Syrian Kurdish autonomous region, I met kindred spirits and found out more about the political and cultural…Do Egyptians have any Rights Left at All? – HRW
Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities in recent weeks have arrested at least 50 peaceful political activists, blocked at least 62 websites, and opened a criminal prosecution against…Aerospace Campaign in Syria: Did Putin kill ISIL’s so-called ‘caliph’?
TeleSur | - - The statement came a day after Russia said it killed several senior leaders, 30 field commanders and up to 300 of their personal guards in an airstrike last…Iraq Deployed Shiite Volunteers to defeat ISIL, but now has a Militia Problem
Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) |. - The Iraqi government’s next big problem is coming into view: The group of powerful Shiite Muslim militias loyal to Iran seem to want to…Trump to Send 4,000 More US Troops to Afghanistan as Mattis admits ‘Not Winning’
TeleSur | - - The Trump adminstration plans to deploy 4,000 more troops, extending the nearly The official says troops will train Afghan soldiers, and fight Taliban and Islamic State group forces.…Putin offers Comey Asylum, likens him to Snowden
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - BBC Monitoring translates the remarks of Russian President Vladimir Putin broadcast on Rosiyya 1 TV on Thursday. He responded to the remarks last…From Syria to Somalia: Where have all the Children Gone?
By Karen J. Greenberg | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - “This is a war against normal life.” So said CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward, describing the situation at this moment in Syria, as…How Long can Qatar defy its powerful neighbors? It depends on Trump
By Nader Habibi | (Conversation) | - - The recent decision by half the nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a few other countries to isolate fellow member Qatar came…