Iraq

RT | – “It may look like any other top resort in Iraq, but the Ninawa International Hotel in Mosul has one major difference. It is the first 5-star hotel for Islamic State jihadists. It includes a swimming pool and tennis court… but no bar.” RT: “Jihad Hotel: 5-star resort opens for ISIS supporters in […]

Iraq

Cunning Stunts in Iraq: ISIL Sleeper Cells Are Secret Weapon in Ramadi

contributors

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) – Refugees from Ramadi trying to escape the city and extremists. Last week’s small extremist victories in Ramadi were fuelled by the work of sleeper cells, who spread rumours and panic that saw security forces abandoning the city and locals fleeing for Baghdad. But those worst fears were never […]

Human Rights

Daesh in Mosul seeks Child Soldiers, Child Suicide-Bombers

contributors

By Khales Joumah | Mosul | (Niqash.org) – One of the latest inventions by the Islamic State in Mosul is the mobile pulpit. Most recently a caravan for propaganda appeared in a city fun fair. The target for extremist recruitment? The city’s children. It has almost become a joke among the families of Mosul. It […]

Iraq

“We had to destroy Tikrit to save it from ISIL”: Recovered Iraqi City a Ghost Town

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Tikrit | (Niqash.org) – It’s been almost a month since the Islamic State group was expelled from Tikrit. NIQASH went there and found a graffiti-covered ghost town ruled by opposing groups of gunmen, none of whom trust one another. In Basha Street in the centre of the Iraqi city of Tikrit, […]

Afghanistan

The Middle East Policy of President Bernie Sanders

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Bernie Sanders opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation of that country. Sanders wanted to get out of Afghanistan from 2011 much faster than the timetable announced by President Obama. Obama has now more or less extended a US military presence in Afghanistan, advertised as […]

Barack Obama

Bush blames Obama for lack of Wars (‘Follow-Through’ on ‘Threats’)

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – George W. Bush spoke privately this weekend at a Republican Jewish Coalition session hosted by casino sleazeball Sheldon Adelson, who made his pile in a very shady way in China’s Macau and now gets to choose the US president with his ill-gotten gains. What was remarkable was that […]

Iraq

The Battle Plans of ISIL: Can they Succeed in Mideast Conquest?

contributors

By Richard Rousseau | (The Conversation) What is Islamic State’s political program? What is its ideology? Who are its theoreticians? The answers to these questions can be found in its propaganda. Islamic State has transformed from an ultra-minority party into one of the major political actors in the Middle East within a few months. It […]

Arab Spring

Beyond the Headlines: The New Arabs (Juan Cole Interview)

Juan Cole

Jack Segal | International Affairs Forum (Traverse City) | – “For three decades, Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context. This conversation will add to that endeavor. Beyond the Headlines is hosted […]

Egypt

Is Iranian power on the rise?

contributors

By Brian M. Downing | (Informed Comment) – As the Iranian nuclear talks neared preliminary agreement, and as the Houthis drove into southern Yemen, world leaders and commentators warned that Iran is on the rise in the Middle East. This, they continued, had to be stopped by imposing tougher sanctions and opposing the Houthis, perhaps […]