Arab World

By Abdulaziz Kilani | @AZ_Kilani | – Last week, the United Arab Emirates confirmed its troop drawdown from Yemen, which has raised questions about what Abu Dhabi’s next target will be. “Many people asked if this is also linked to the current rise of tensions with Iran,” said a senior UAE official who declined to […]

Saudi Arabia

As United Arab Emirates pulls out of Brutal Yemen War, is it now Saudi Arabia ‘s?

Middle East Monitor

By Thembisa Fakude | Twitter: @fakudet | – The war in Yemen is entering its fifth year with no solution in sight. Every day thousands of people, including women and children, are injured and maimed. According to Amnesty International, “there is extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in […]

Afghanistan

Majority of US Veterans doubt Value of Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria Wars: Pew

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A Pew Research Center opinion poll conducted among 1,284 veterans who had served since 2001 (which also polled 1,087 American civilians as a control), found that a majority of veterans holds that the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars and the intervention against ISIl in Syria were not worth it. The results […]

Dance

Dunked On’em: Nicki Minaj Pulls out of Saudi Concert over Women’s, LGBTQ, Free Speech Rights

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trinidadian-American rap superstar Onika Tanya Maraj, known as “Nicki Minaj” has pulled out of Jidda World Fest scheduled in Saudi Arabia for July 15. She issued a statement: “While I want nothing more than to bring my show to fans in Saudi Arabia, after better educating myself on the issues, […]

Syria

Syria: US Coalition needs to Reimburse Civilians for Thousands of Innocents Killed and Massive Property Destruction in fight against ISIL

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – The United States-led coalition against the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) should address the harm to civilians during military operations in Syria, Human Rights Watch said today. Independent investigators have reported that coalition airstrikes killed at least 7,000 civilians in military operations in Iraq and Syria since September 2014. […]

Climate Change

Saudi Arabia erases Science, Blocks Progress at Bonn Climate Summit, Pushing Dirty Oil

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Saudi Arabia actively blocked sinking island nations and other small countries facing climate catastrophe from foregrounding their problems at the Bonn climate summit that just wrapped up. Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists has been attending the summit and wrote, “During the negotiations, Saudi Arabia blocked substantive discussions […]

Libya

Watching another of America’s Forgotten Wars from Libyan Rooftops

Nick Turse

( Tomdispatch.com ) – TRIPOLI, Libya — Sometimes war sounds like the harsh crack of gunfire and sometimes like the whisper of the wind. This early morning — in al-Yarmouk on the southern edge of Libya’s capital, Tripoli — it was a mix of both. All around, shops were shuttered and homes emptied, except for […]

Saudi Arabia

A Terrible Week for Saudi’s MBS Shows Tide is Turning

Human Rights Watch

By Elisa Epstein | Advocacy Coordinator | @elisacepstein | – (Human Rights Watch) – In a powerful rebuke to the Trump administration and a strong signal to Gulf states, the US Senate voted yesterday, 53 to 45, to block arms sales worth billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), among […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Crown Prince Haunted by Ghost of Murdered dissident Journalist Khashoggi

Middle East Monitor

By Hazem Ayyad | – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman tried to pre-empt the release of the final report of the international inquiry into the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by giving an interview to journalist Ghassan Charbel of the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday, 16 June. The Khashoggi crisis has […]