Month

Archives: Arab World

Can the Sadr Movement in Iraq overcome Sectarianism with new Shiite-Sunni-Kurdish Party?

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | ( Niqash.org) | - - One of Iraq’s most powerful political groupings, the Sadrist movement, is trying to form a new alliance that may unite secular,…

Was ISIL’s destruction of Mosul’s Grand Mosque Grand Strategy?

Was ISIL’s destruction of Mosul’s Nuri Mosque Grand Strategy?

By Benjamin Isakhan and Jose Antonio Gonzalez Zarandona | (The Conversation) | - - On June 29 2014 – nearly three years ago to the day – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi took the…

In Apocalyptic Vandalism, ISIL blows up 800-year-old Nuri Mosque in Mosul

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - al-Hayat (Life) reports that on Wednesday evening around 9:30 pm local time, Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) blew up the Nuri Mosque in Mosul. The…

Will New Crown Prince in Riyadh Usher in Open Saudi-Israeli Alliance?

TeleSur | - - The young Saudi king-in-waiting has been hailed as a "modernizer" for his open support of normalizing ties with the Israeli occupation, first and foremost. The Gulf Arab “game…

The Millennial’s Palace Coup in Saudi Arabia: How Dangerous?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The epic battle in the Trump White House between Jared Kushner, the Orthodox Jewish son-in-law, and Steve Bannon, the alt-NeoNazi White House strategist,…

Trump’s Love Affair With the Saudis

By William D. Hartung | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - At this point, it’s no great surprise when Donald Trump walks away from past statements in service to some impulse of the…

1/2 of World’s Civilian War Deaths were in Syria, Iraq & Yemen during past Half-Decade

By IPS World Desk | (Inter Press Service) | - - ROME/GENEVA (IPS) - Between 2010 and 2015, nearly half of all civilian war deaths worldwide occurred in Syria, Iraq and Yemen,…

Russo-US dog fights over Syria?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Yara Bayoumi at Reuters reports on the complicated minuet being danced by Russia, the Syrian Air Force, and the United States. The Syrian…

Habitual Labor abuser Saudi Arabia elected to UN body Promoting Workers

By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com ) | - - In a grotesque development earlier this week, Saudi Arabia – a world leader in the exploitation of migrant workers – won a…

Putin’s End Game in Syria

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Syrian press is watching Oliver Stone's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and likes what it sees. Syria's al-Watan (The Nation) reports…

Have Syria’s Kurds invented a Democratic Neo-Socialism?

Dmitry Petrov | (OpenDemocracy.net) | - - In an effort to get through to the Syrian Kurdish autonomous region, I met kindred spirits and found out more about the political and cultural…

Do Egyptians have any Rights Left at All? – HRW

Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities in recent weeks have arrested at least 50 peaceful political activists, blocked at least 62 websites, and opened a criminal prosecution against…

Aerospace Campaign in Syria: Did Putin kill ISIL’s so-called ‘caliph’?

TeleSur | - - The statement came a day after Russia said it killed several senior leaders, 30 field commanders and up to 300 of their personal guards in an airstrike last…

Iraq Deployed Shiite Volunteers to defeat ISIL, but now has a Militia Problem

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) |. - The Iraqi government’s next big problem is coming into view: The group of powerful Shiite Muslim militias loyal to Iran seem to want to…

How Long can Qatar defy its powerful neighbors? It depends on Trump

By Nader Habibi | (Conversation) | - - The recent decision by half the nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a few other countries to isolate fellow member Qatar came…

Mattis overrules Trump on Qatari “terrorism,” sells it $12 bn in F-15s

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis defied his boss Donald Trump on Wednesday and inked a deal with the Qatar government to sell it…

The top 4 Challenges facing the Arab World

By Tarek Osman | (Project Syndicate) | - - LONDON – Fifty years after the Six Days War, the Middle East remains a region in seemingly perpetual crisis. So it is no…

The End of pan-Arab Media? Governments Ban whole Channels, Fine Fans

Human Rights Watch | - - (Beirut) – Arab countries engaged in a dispute with Qatar have shut down media outlets with links to or considered sympathetic to the Qatari government, Human…

Why Saudi Extremism, Instability is an Argument for EVs, Wind and Solar Energy

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Saudi Arabia has gotten too big for its britches, and the oil-producing Middle East is turning even more unstable. Not to mention that…

Obama’s last Victory: Syrian Democratic Forces hold Parts of ISIL Capital

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with…