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Juan Cole

Afghanistan
Taliban Commander Maulvi Fazlullah Said Killed in Nuristan

Taliban Commander Maulvi Fazlullah Said Killed in Nuristan

Juan Cole

Conflicting reports are emerging from the province of Nuristan in Afghanistan, some alleging that Maulvi Fazlullah, a.k.a. ‘Mulla Radio,’ has been killed in fierce fighting along with six companions. On Thursday, a group of insurgents took on Afghanistan National Army troops in Nuristan, with heavy fighting continuing on Friday. Maulvi Fazlullah was one of the […]

Uncategorized
Ahmadinejad Blasts Medvedev over UNSC Sanctions; <br> Brazil still Reaching out to Obama on Nuclear Deal

Ahmadinejad Blasts Medvedev over UNSC Sanctions;
Brazil still Reaching out to Obama on Nuclear Deal

Juan Cole

The Iranian newspaper Tabnak reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a speech on Wednesday, took a hard line with Russia and also pressured the US to accept the deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil on Iranian low enriched uranium (the “Tehran Declaration.”) Ahmadinejad, speaking in the city of Kerman, said that Iran and Russia […]

Israel/ Palestine
Mercy Flotilla for Gaza About to Set Off <br> Israelis Threaten to Block it with War Ships

Mercy Flotilla for Gaza About to Set Off
Israelis Threaten to Block it with War Ships

Juan Cole

An 8-ship aid flotilla will likely set sail from Turkish ports on Wednesday in an attempt to reach the Occupied Gaza Strip Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called on the Israelis to lift their siege of Gazan civilians and warned them not to block the aid flotilla. Turkey had for decades been close to Israel, […]

Uncategorized
Petraeus Memo Widens scope of US Military Covert Operations in ME

Petraeus Memo Widens scope of US Military Covert Operations in ME

Juan Cole

The 7-page memo seen by the NYT and signed by CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus authorizes US troops to engage in clandestine intelligence-gathering in the greater Middle East. The article implies that the memo also authorizes more military teams to go into unconventional conflict situations in both unfriendly and friendly countries. Critics worry that the […]

Israel/ Palestine
Israel offered Nukes to Racist South Africa for Use on Black Neighbors

Israel offered Nukes to Racist South Africa for Use on Black Neighbors

Juan Cole

A suppressed historical episode has emerged into the light of day in such a way as to deeply embarrass Israel and the United States in their campaign against Iran’s peaceful nuclear enrichment program at Natanz near Isfahan. In a recent interview, Tzahi Hanegbi, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in Israel said, […]

Afghanistan
Taliban Attack Qandahar Airfield; Parliament goes on Strike

Taliban Attack Qandahar Airfield; Parliament goes on Strike

Juan Cole

Guerrillas fired mortar shells and used small arms to attack the major US military base in south Afghanistan, Qandahar Airfield, on Saturday. The operation was the third major attack by insurgents during the past week. They had also attacked a NATO convoy in the capital, Kabul, and had attacked Bagram Base north of Kabul. The […]

Pakistan
Pakistan's Social Media Ban Endangers Economic Growth

Pakistan’s Social Media Ban Endangers Economic Growth

Juan Cole

The Lahore High Court’s ban on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and some other social media sites was supported on Friday in Pakistan by rallies of students, attorneys and fundamentalists. Blackberry services have also been banned by the Pakistani telecom authority. But these knowledge workers are unwittingly shooting themselves in the foot and raising the question of […]

Uncategorized
Iran Threatens to Pull out of Nuclear Deal over new UN Sanctions

Iran Threatens to Pull out of Nuclear Deal over new UN Sanctions

Juan Cole

Iranian member of parliament Mohammad Reza Bahonar warned Thursday that “If (the West) issues a new resolution against Iran, we will not be committed to Tehran’s statement and dispatching fuel outside Iran will be canceled.” Turkey and Brazil, with full backing from Washington DC and in close cooperation with the Obama administration, had apparently succeeded […]

Uncategorized
Top Ten Other Gratuitously Offensive Draw-a-Cartoon Days

Top Ten Other Gratuitously Offensive Draw-a-Cartoon Days

Juan Cole

The juvenile “draw Muhammad” day has generally been avoided by professional editorial cartoonists. One Islamophobic theme apparent in the writing on it is that Muslims are peculiar in their thin-skinned responses to such assaults on their religious sensibilities and that members of other religions never riot or protest. This assertion is not only bigoted but […]

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