By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Thirteen years after the illegal US invasion of Iraq, it is worth considering its full impact on this country and on the region. Bush-Cheneyism had a number of key pillars, among which these were prominent: 1. Aggressive unilateral warfare, with the domestic advantage of making the […]
Syria: Russia Targets Daesh in Palmyra despite Drawdown
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite the Russian announcement of a determination to withdraw the bulk of its air force from Syria, Moscow has underlined that some planes would remain and would continue to fly missions against groups the Russian Federation considers terrorists,including al-Qaeda (Jabhat al-Nusra) and Daesh (ISIL, ISIS). Thus, […]
More US Muslims favor Bernie Sanders than do US Jews
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) published a new opinion poll on America’s Muslims and other religious groups this week, which contains some surprises. One important finding is that mosque attendance is associated with strong identification as an American and strong civic participation as […]
Putin: Russia can ramp back up in Syria “within hours”
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat (Life) summarized Russian sources on Thursday’s speech by Russian president Vladimir Putin: Putin made several points: 1. Russia hopes that the ceasefire and Geneva peace negotiations can now go forward relatively smoothly toward a political settlement in Syria 2. Russia will continue […]
Syria’s Kurds to declare Federal Province
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Syria’s Kurds have decided to declare a federal province in the northeast of the country and along the northern border with Turkey. Many Arab states are unitary rather than federal and for the most part provincial governors are appointed by the central government and the central […]
If it’s Trump versus Clinton, what does it Mean for Iran and ISIL Policy?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – – Despite Donald Trump’s big wins on Tuesday, he is still only halfway to the delegate count he needs to win the GOP presidential nomination outright, and his remaining rivals of Kasich and Cruz could siphon off enough delegates to deny him that clear victory. It […]
Mystery: Russia & Hizbullah begin withdrawal from Syria
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – al-Hayat [Life], the London pan-Arab daily, reports on the announcement Monday by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would begin withdrawing the greater part of Russian men and equipment from Syria. Al-Hayat is careful to note that Putin says that the Russian naval base at Tartus […]
Syria: More US Weaponry goes to al-Qaeda
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – al-Akhbar (Beirut) reports that al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Levant, also known as the Support Front (jabhat al-Nusra), repeated scenarios it had previously acted out against other “moderate” remnants of the old Free Syrian Army. It launched a massive attack on the headquarters of Division […]
Winners and Losers in 5 Years of Syrian Civil War
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Five years ago this week, protests began in Damascus and Deraa (mainly Deraa) in Syria, on the heels of the overthrow of dictators in Tunisia and Egypt. Syria’s government was even more repressive than those of the other two countries, however, much more of a Stalinist […]
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