Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Juan Cole

Iraq
Al-Maliki: US Cannot Afford to Stay; Physicians to Carry Weapons

Al-Maliki: US Cannot Afford to Stay; Physicians to Carry Weapons

Juan Cole

In an interview with the Associated Press, PM Nuri al-Maliki warned that the future is dark if Iraq and the US do not agree on a security pact. And without a pact, he said, all the security progress made in the last year would be at risk. He points out that the alternative is to […]

Uncategorized
Karzai: Civilian Gov't of Pakistan better against Terrorism; Pakistan Bajaur Campaign Leaves 15 Dead

Karzai: Civilian Gov’t of Pakistan better against Terrorism; Pakistan Bajaur Campaign Leaves 15 Dead

Juan Cole

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai believes that the new civilian government will take more effective steps against the Pakistani Taliban on the Afghan border. This stance is the opposite of that of John McCain, who supported military dictator Pervez Musharraf (who was forced to resign as president in August under threat of impeachment). Pakistani forces claim […]

Uncategorized
Kaptur: Playing Wall Street Bailout

Kaptur: Playing Wall Street Bailout

Juan Cole

Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) on how the Reality Game, “Wall Street Bailout,” is played: See also Chalmers Johnson at Tomdispatch.com on the Pentagon Bailout Fraud.

Iraq
Bombings in Baghdad Kill 34, Wound 100; Arab-Kurdish Violence in Diyala

Bombings in Baghdad Kill 34, Wound 100; Arab-Kurdish Violence in Diyala

Juan Cole

A wave of deadly bombings and other attacks swept Baghdad on Sunday, killing nearly three dozen persons and wounding over 100. The attacks on Shiite neighborhoods were likely intended to remind the Iraqi public on the eve of Eid al-Fitr (the celebration of the end of the fasting month of Ramadan) that the Sunni guerrilla […]

Uncategorized
Daragahi: Damascus Bombing Payback from Radical Sunnis

Daragahi: Damascus Bombing Payback from Radical Sunnis

Juan Cole

These bombings in Baghdad follow a major such attack in Damascus, Syria, which was probably carried out by radical revivalist Sunnis (“Salafis”) to punish the Syrian regime for cracking down on their movements, both into Iraq and between Lebanon and Syria. The Syrian regime, as Borzou Daragahi points out, is also a strong backer of […]

Uncategorized
Obama Won: Gallup/USA Today Poll; 52% Say Obama best to Fix Problems, vs. 35% for McCain

Obama Won: Gallup/USA Today Poll; 52% Say Obama best to Fix Problems, vs. 35% for McCain

Juan Cole

In addition to those two snap polls done just after the debate on Friday by CNN and by CBS, there is now further evidence that Obama won the first debate handily. A Gallup/ USA Today poll of 701 viewers of the debate done on Saturday found that 46% of viewers said Barack Obama did better; […]

Uncategorized
Saudi Oil Moguls fear Hybrid Cars

Saudi Oil Moguls fear Hybrid Cars

Juan Cole

Saudi Arabia wants lower petroleum prices. As a country with enormous reserves, Riyadh would like to preserve their value. In contrast, countries like Algeria with relatively shallow reserves want to get top dollar for their petroleum while it lasts. Businessweek provides the telling quote: ‘ Any threat to oil’s leading role as a source of […]

Iraq
Iraqi Hopes for US Troop Withdrawal

Iraqi Hopes for US Troop Withdrawal

Juan Cole

One of the things that struck me about Friday night’s debate on the time line for troop withdrawal was that McCain appeared to believe that how long US troops remain in Iraq and at what strength is a unilateral matter dictated by Washington. The government of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki is already trying to negotiate […]

Uncategorized
Palin Says She did Not Have Money to Travel in Youth; But She went to College in Hawaii!

Palin Says She did Not Have Money to Travel in Youth; But She went to College in Hawaii!

Juan Cole

On seeing this part of the Couric interview of Palin, I suddenly remembered something about her: ‘ Couric: In preparing for this conversation, a lot of our viewers … and Internet users wanted to know why you did not get a passport until last year. And they wondered if that indicated a lack of interest […]

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • …
  • Page 1008
  • Page 1009
  • Page 1010
  • Page 1011
  • Page 1012
  • …
  • Page 1599
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Siamese Criminals: Trump and Netanyahu
  • Early Farming in Middle East, Sometimes Matriarchal, Spread through Learning, not Conquest
  • Misreading and Misrepresenting Iran
  • 12 Days Of War: Takeaways From The Israel-Iran Conflict
  • Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century Judge and Ambassador, travelled further than Marco Polo. The Rihla records his Adventures

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved