By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Journalists such as the intrepid Liz Sly covering the Syrian Civil War were struck with the victories of the Army of Conquest coalition in northern Syria, which in recent weeks first took Idlib city (they had already taken most of Idlib province) and then Jisr al-Shughur, a […]
Israel’s Government Ratchets even Further Right: Great Moments in Colonialism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Binyamin Netanyahu has succeeded in putting together a shaky coalition of parties that would give him 61 seats in the 120-member Israeli parliament. In such fragile coalitions, each small party has enormous power, since if it left, it would cause the government to fall and provoke new elections. […]
“Killing Me Softly” in Palestine: Lauryn Hill Cancels Israel Concert under BDS Pressure
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – In another sign that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s far-right nationalism is turning Israel into a pariah state, pop star Lauryn Hill has cancelled a planned concert outside Tel Aviv. She was subjected to a great deal of pressure from fans on social media to withdraw the […]
Warren Buffett betting big on Wind Energy in Nebraska, & other Planet-Saving News
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Wind power is on a roll in the US despite a fickle Congress and the machinations of Big Coal and Big Gas to keep all the subsidies for themselves. And one of the world’s most successful investors, Warren Buffett, has noticed. As of the end of the first […]
US Airstrike in Syria kills 53 Civilians, 6 Children
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) As Mariam Karouny reports for Reuters, the US air strike on Friday that inadvertently hit a village of non-combatants, killing members of six families, raises new questions about the Obama administration’s approach to fighting Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) in Syria. Despite months of bombing raids, Daesh has lost no […]
Tom Cotton’s ‘Chickenhawk’ Taunt at Iran FM Demeans Jeb Bush, GOP Field
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – So freshman senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) got into a Twitter slamming match with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif this week. Zarif spoke at New York University on Wednesday and asserted that if there were a UNSC deal on Iran’s nuclear energy program, international sanctions would be […]
Fatal Triangle: Saudi, Iran, US Tensions spike over continued Yemen Airstrikes
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – The attention span of US television news is so short that it is difficult for it to cover ongoing wars in which there isn’t dramatic news every day. Not to mention that getting a camera crew into some conflict zones is highly dangerous or just impossible (television […]
Global Connections: World History as Social History – a New Synthesis
I and colleagues have just brought out a world history. Because of the fine and exciting writing of my co-authors, it is more than just a textbook. My readers often ask me about history books – here’s one I can recommend. By John Coatsworth, Juan Cole, Michael Hanagan, Peter C. Perdue, Charles Tilly, and Louise […]
The Middle East Policy of President Bernie Sanders
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Bernie Sanders opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation of that country. Sanders wanted to get out of Afghanistan from 2011 much faster than the timetable announced by President Obama. Obama has now more or less extended a US military presence in Afghanistan, advertised as […]
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