Europe

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Al Jazeera bureau chief in Tehran, Abdul Qader Fayez, reports from “informed sources” in Tehran that Iran’s clerical Leader, Ali Khamenei, and his National Security Council have still not decided how to respond to the US attack on Iranian civilian nuclear facilities, though they want the response to be […]

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German Chancellor Merz in Historic Rebuke of Israel: Attacks on Civilians not Justified by Hamas Terror

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Because of the Nazi Holocaust in which six million European Jews were murdered, German governments have felt a need to provide Israel with unqualified support. Without German persecution of Jews in the 1930s and then the genocide of the 1940s, arguably Israel would never have come into existence. There were […]

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Gaza “a Gaping Wound on Humanity:” Spain Convenes Int’l Conference to call for Arms Embargo on Israel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Spanish wire service EFE reports that delegations from 20 countries met Sunday in Madrid in a push to pressure Israel to halt its total war on Gaza and to establish a Palestinian state. Convened by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, the conference sought to move to concrete actions. Israel […]

Canada

Britain, France and Canada threaten Israel with Concrete Sanctions if Gaza War is not Halted

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Britain, France and Canada issued a statement on Monday, demanding that the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu cease its military campaign against the people of Gaza and halt its months-long blockade of food and medical aid, which has left the Strip on the verge of widespread famine. The three threatened […]

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French President Macron demands Immediate Gaza Ceasefire, Resumption of Civilian Aid, Palestinian State

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by telephone Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Paris’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state. Macron insisted on a ceasefire in Gaza and told Netanyahu that it was the only hope for retrieving the remaining Israeli hostages from Gaza. Macron wrote at “X” […]

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Macron: France to Recognize the State of Palestine amid Gaza “Crime”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – French President Emmanuel Macron visited El Arish in Egypt on Tuesday to see refugees from Gaza with his own eyes. He then announced that France would recognize the State of Palestine, probably in June. Mohamed Bouhafsi at French public television reports on remarks of French President Emannuel Macron on Gaza […]

Donald Trump

Can Fortress Europe survive Trump, Putin and the new Political Dark Age?

John Feffer

( Tomdispatch.com ) – The news of Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest surprised me. It’s not that I doubted the former leader of the Philippines was guilty of the horrific crimes detailed in his International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. Duterte himself boasted quite openly of the mass killings he’s been accused of. But I always thought […]

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Top Seven Things People Get Wrong About the Ukraine-Russia War

Arnold Oliver

Tiffin, Ohio (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – As the Russo-Ukraine war drags into its third year, peace talks are finally underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All parties to the conflict are busy trying to control the narrative. While we do not exonerate Russia from its very bad behavior, others have behaved badly as well. […]

Donald Trump

Saudi Arabia, Rehabilitated, is Mediator in Ukraine War, and maybe with Iran

Kristian Coates Ulrichsen

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University (The Conversation) – Saudi Arabia is 2,000 miles from Ukraine and even more politically distant, so at first glance it might seem like it has nothing to do with the ongoing war there. But the Gulf state has emerged as a key intermediary in the most serious ceasefire negotiations […]