By Brian Urlacher, University of North Dakota | – (The Conversation) – President George W. Bush and his administration put forward a variety of reasons to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In the months before the U.S. invasion, Bush said the looming conflict was about eradicating terrorism and seizing weapons of mass destruction – […]
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Iraq
20 Years Ago, the Bush Administration Launched the Iraq War: Juan Cole: “I Have a Bad Feeling About This”
To mark the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War, here are some brief blog entries Juan Cole made in the run-up to the war expressing caution and pessimism about the triumphalist rhetoric issuing from the White House and many US news organizations. Juan Cole 01/28/2003 (Remarks delivered in late 2002). The Journal of the International […]
20 Years On, What Did the Iraq War Truly Cost?
By Peter Certo | – ( Otherwords.org) – The war claimed more than lives and treasure — it claimed a future’s worth of lost opportunities. Now, younger generations are demanding them back. By Peter Certo | Most of us who were alive then remember where we were on the morning of the 9/11 attacks. As […]
The US invaded Iraq 20 Years ago–What can Today’s Youths Learn from it?
By Andrea Stanton, University of Denver | – (The Conversation) – The United States invaded Iraq 20 years ago in March 2003, claiming it had to disarm the Iraqi government of weapons of mass destruction and end the dictatorial rule of President Saddam Hussein. U.S. soldiers captured Saddam in December 2003. And a 15-month search […]
America’s War of Aggression on Iraq, 20 Years Later: Or, Putin the Prequel
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Who remembers anymore that, in 2003, we were Vladimir Putin? Today, our cable and social-media news feeds are blanketed with denunciations of the president of the Russian Federation for his lawless and brutal invasion of Ukraine. When Secretary of State Antony Blinken met briefly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New […]
Climate Emergency: Extreme Heat Waves will increase 600% in Israel, Middle East, over 80 years, as 70% of Youth consider Emigrating
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Ruth Schuster at Haaretz reports on a new study led by Assaf Hochmann at Hebrew University, finding that extreme heat waves in Israel will increase 600% over the next 80 years. Not only will this change strike Israel but also Egypt, Syria, Jordan and southern Turkiye, with the potential for […]
Why the Middle East is moving and must move away from Oil and Gas
By Elif Selin Calik | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – In 2022, the biggest energy issue in the Middle East was Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cut as the world economy entered into a period of ‘heightened uncertainty and rising challenges’. In October, OPEC cut its 2022 forecast for growth […]
Top 8 Political and Geopolitical Shifts in the Middle East in 2022
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – We saw a lot of pivotal developments in the Middle East this year, including the impact of climate change in the form of increasing aridity and massive dust storms. But there were also realignments of interests that affect the U.S. Here are some of them: 1. President Biden in July […]
In Iraqi Kurdistan, Yazidi girls box their way to a new future after Daesh terror
By Roshan De Stone | – ( Middle East Monitor) – After the 2014 Daesh genocide which left them reeling from the effects of mass abduction and rape, Yazidi refugee girls are rebuilding their lives with the help of boxing, art and music classes. Emma Loffhagen and Charline Bou Mansour report from Iraqi Kurdistan In […]