Month

Archives: Arab World

ISIL was ended not by Trump or Obama but by Muslims

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Raqqa, the capital of the ISIL phony "caliphate" in eastern Syria, has completely fallen, according to a spokesman for the US-backed Syrian Democratic…

No, It Wasn’t Iran: Top 7 Reasons Baghdad took Kirkuk

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Iraqi Army and its Shiite militia adjuncts have taken Kirkuk city and raised the Iraqi flag over the state house, taking down…

Morocco’s Solar Power Revolution Sparks Jobs, High-Tech Investment

The World Bank | (Video News Report) | - - "Concentrating Solar Power, CSP, is huge in Morocco. Literally, it’s huge. Panels almost the size of tennis courts stretch across acres of…

In Absence of US Leadership, War Breaks out between Kurds and Baghdad

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The "Voice of Iraq" reports that last night artillery duels broke out between Iraqi army forces and Kurdish Peshmerga paramilitary personnel to the…

How Trump’s Foreign Policy Mood Swings made US a Rogue State

By John Feffer | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - From his feud with Bob Corker to his plans to renege on the Iran deal, Trump's mood swings mean a dangerous…

Syrian Army Seizes De Facto ISIL Capital

TeleSur | - - The Syrian Arab Army has reportedly taken over the [so-called] Islamic State group's de facto capital of Al-Mayadeen. The Syrian Arab Army, SAA, has achieved full control over…

Alarmed Kurdistan forces Mobilized at Kirkuk as Iraqi troops said to Mass on Border

TeleSur | - - According to Kurdish TV station, Rudaw, an additional 6,000 Peshmerga forces have been mobilized in Kirkuk to defend from a possible Iraqi threat. Kurdish TV channel Rudaw has…

Could Kurdish Secession bid derail Iraq’s Democracy?

Mustafa Habib | (Baghdad) | (Niqash.org) | - - In Baghdad, the Kurdish referendum has dominated all other official proceedings. Lack of progress on electoral laws means federal elections could be postponed…

Yemen Cholera cases heading to 1 Mn. amid Saudi-led War

By Edna Bonhomme | (The Conversation) | - - As of October 1, 771,945 people in Yemen have been infected with cholera and 2,134 have died from the disease. The epidemic, rare…

Yemen: Is Saudi Coalition deliberately Blocking Aid and Fuel to Civilians?

Human Rights Watch | - - Houthi-Saleh Obstruction also Heightens Crisis (Beirut) – The Saudi-led coalition’s restrictions on imports to Yemen have worsened the dire humanitarian situation of Yemeni civilians, Human Rights…

What if we Gave Six Wars and No Americans Noticed?

What if we Gave Seven Wars and No Americans Noticed?

By Andrew J. Bacevich | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - Consider, if you will, these two indisputable facts. First, the United States is today more or less permanently engaged in hostilities in…

Iraq: How Saddam Hussein’s Ghost haunts Kurdish Referendum

Mustafa Habib | (Baghdad) | (Niqash.org) | - - Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein tried to exterminate the Kurds in Iraq. Now Iraqis angry about the Kurdish desire to secede are bringing…

Last Flight Departs as Iraq punishes Kurds’ Secession Vote

TeleSur | - - Domestic flights are still allowed, so travelers are expected to travel to Kurdistan mostly via Baghdad's airport. The last international flight left Erbil airport on Friday as the…

Iraq: Kurds, United, Confident in Negotiated Settlement

Histyar Qader | Erbil | (Niqash.org) | - - In the end, the Kurdish people and politicians united around the independence referendum. But what happens next? Some senior politicians believe negotiations with…

Iraqi Kurdistan defiant in face of Baghdad sanctions, threats

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Kurdistan Regional Government on Thursday rejected the decisions of the Iraqi parliament and government. It nevertheless expressed a willingness to conduct a…

Saudi decree allowing women to drive cars is about politics, not religion

By Haifaa Jawad | (The Conversation) | - - In an unexpected move that surprised everyone, including his own people, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia has suddenly passed a…

What it means to raise the Palestinian flag in today’s America

Tom Brocket | (The Conversation) | - - It is a wet and dreary February afternoon in Union City, the compact and densely populated township sitting on the New Jersey bank of…

Iraq strikes Back: Kurds under air travel ban, Turkey blocks Oil

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Iraqi parliament on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding that the Iraqi army take control of the province of Kirkuk and reclaim the…

The Biggest Impediment to Saudi Women Was Never the Driving Ban

By Medea Benjamin | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - No matter their age, Saudi women are treated like minors — to the point that many require permission from their sons…

Saudi King seeks Recognition for letting Women Drive, a basic right

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Saudi Arabia's King Salman issued a decree on Tuesday permitting women to drive as of June of next year. Saudi Arabia was the…