By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Elizabeth Palmer reported from Ankara last Thursday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had difficult and inconclusive discussions with Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan concerning Syria. After the meeting he said publicly, that the “longer-term status of President (Bashar) Assad will be decided by the Syrian people.” […]
Iran is Back: With Int’l Sanctions lifted and Putin Friendly, Tehran is on a Roll
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iranian petroleum sales to its top four Asian customers rose nearly 60% year on year in March, and total exports have reached nearly 3 million barrels a day. Just four countries accounted for over 2/3s of the total exports– China, India, South Korea and Japan. South […]
Putin joins ranks of Climate Denialists in support of Trump
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian President Vladimir Putin has abruptly become a climate-change denialist, apparently under the influence of key figures in the Trump administration, which Putin likely helped install. The spread of anti-intellectualism and the war on science has been a worrisome feature of the American right wing for […]
Was Michael Flynn Russia’s “primary channel of communication with the Trump team”?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Former National Security Adviser to president Trump, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Michael Flynn, has allegedly offered to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Russia’s role in the US election, on condition that he is granted immunity from prosecution. This development could be important, because Flynn was […]
Are Progressives Suffering from Trump Fatigue?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Many progressives are suffering Trump exhaustion. The new administration has set the country back on so many fronts that it may not even be possible to follow all the breaking, and very bad, news. Every time you take some comfort in a successful lawsuit against the […]
Mosul: “Some” US Responsibility for Civilian deaths; but Iraqi PM lashes out at Critics
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As US commanders begin confessing that it is likely that the US military bears responsibility for last Thursday’s errant airstrike that killed as many as 200-300 innocent civilians, America’s Iraqi partner Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi disagreed, lashing out at critics. Al-Abadi, from the fundamentalist Shiite Da’wa […]
The simple Number that will Defeat Trump’s attempt to Roll back Obama Energy Policies
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump’s Executive Order deregulating dangerous gas emissions is being signed today at the Environmental Protection Agency. This is the greatest mean-spirited reversal since the Red Coats, defeated in 1783, returned in 1812 and burned down the White House. Trump can use the might of the Federal […]
True, Trump hasn’t Criticized Putin for Navalny Arrest; but Navalny is more like Trump
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The meme du jour about the protests in Russia on Sunday is that Donald Trump did not criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for arresting the protesters, including their leader, Alexei Navalny. Apparently the pressure on the State Department from Russia hawks in Congress was so great […]
Video of Day: Kitten tempted by Iran New Year Goldfish
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | (Video Clip) | – – March 21 was the Persian New Year (Now Ruz), marking also the first day of spring (the vernal equinox). In Iran on that day it is a custom to set out a table top with 7 things on it, the names of which […]
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