President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestine Authority will give a major speech on Friday at the United Nations in conjunction with his planned request to the UN Security Council that Palestine be admitted as a member state to the United Nations. If 9 of 15 current UNSC members vote for the measure, Abbas can take […]
Iraq Denies calling for Syrian President’s Resignation
According to Agence France Presse’s Arabic service, Ali Moussawi, the spokesman for the office of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is now denying that he told the New York Times that the Iraqi government had repeatedly suggested to Syrian President Bashar al-Asad that he resign. He gave a similar interview denying the remarks to a Kurdish […]
Rabbani’s Assassination Sharpens Afghanistan Contradictions
Burhan al-Din Rabbani’s assassination late Tuesday was a further signal that things are going very badly in Afghanistan. Rabbani is a former president of Afghanistan (1992-1996) who, however, was impossible to work with and was therefore sidelined after the overthrow of the Taliban (whom he fought) in 2001. He was recently brought back by President […]
Libyan Transitional Troops enter Sabha
Reuters reports that Libyan troops of the new government have taken the airport of the southern desert city of Sabha, a key site on the route down to Niger. Sabha is one of four small cities of about 120,000 each that are still held by pro-Qaddafi forces. AP reports that the Transitional National Council fighters […]
Obama’s Tax Critics: Political Doggerel of the Day
The Tea Party tore into Obama for staging a taxation drama. They would rather he cut doctor visits somewhat and save millionaires from such trauma.
Top Arab Spring Stories Today
Yemeni security forces killed 24 protesters on Sunday as the conflict between partisans of wounded president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his detractors escalated. Anti-Saleh protesters in Sanaa are taking their demonstrations to new neighborhoods, and are meeting sniper fire from security forces. On Saturday, thousands of protesters headed toward the university campus in the capital. […]
Cole on the 9/11 Aftermath at AskM
I cover questions about Iraq, Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and the Arab Spring in this recent interview at AskM (a program of the University of Michigan News and Information Service)
Cole on the Middle East at O Globo’s “Milenio”
My interview on Middle Eastern affairs with the O Globo television network’s “Milenio” program in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is now on line here. (After the short intro it is in English with Portuguese subtitles). Many thanks to Simone Delgado of O Globo‘s New York office for setting it up, and to Elizabeth Carvalho, the […]
Palestinians seek UN Moxie
Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave a major speech Friday making it clear to the Palestinians that the PA will seek membership in the United Nations at this year’s General Assembly meeting. The Palestinians (or more precisely the Fateh faction that controls the ever-shrinking Palestinian parts of the West Bank) are not going to the […]
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