Arab World

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – David Pecker’s attempt to blackmail Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would not ordinarily attract my eye. Except for this paragraph: “And sometimes Mr. Pecker mixes it all together: “After Mr. Trump became president, he rewarded Mr. Pecker’s loyalty with a White House dinner to which the media executive brought a guest […]

Saudi Arabia

Congress Toughening toward Saudis amid Report Prince Threatened ‘Bullet’ for Khashoggi

AFP

By Shaun TANDON | – Washington, DC (AFP) – US lawmakers threatened Thursday to take tougher action against Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi amid a new revelation that the kingdom’s powerful crown prince spoke of going after him with a “bullet.” President Donald Trump faces a Friday deadline set by Congress […]

Iraq

Grand Ayatollah Sistani Slaps down Trump: You may not use Iraq against its Neighbors

contributors

Beirut (al-Akhbar) – Iraq’s supreme Shiite religious authority, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued a sharp rebuke to US president Donald Trump during a meeting with the head of the United Nations mission in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. Sistani said that “Iraq aspires to have good and balanced relations with all neighboring countries, avoiding interfering in their internal […]

Pentagon

US must probe if Saudis gave US Weapons to al-Qaeda in Yemen: General

AFP

Washington, DC (AFP) – The US must examine whether American-made military gear in Yemen is being transferred to unintended recipients, including Al-Qaeda and Iran-backed rebels, a top general said on Tuesday. General Joseph Votel, who heads US Central Command covering the Middle East, expressed concern to senators about a CNN investigation that found weaponry and […]

Donald Trump

Baghdad: Calls to Expel US Troops from Iraq after Trump said They spy on Iran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s assertion that he intends to keep US troops in Iraq to spy on Iran has produced a firestorm of protest and controversy in Baghdad. Trump also committed the faux pas of saying the US had constructed an enormous military base in Iraq, which contradicts the Iraqi government’s line that […]

censorship

Why Saudi Regime Murdered Journalist Khashoggi in a Consulate

The Conversation

By Victoria Reyes | – Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered by an alleged Saudi “hit squad” whose members have close ties to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Embed from Getty Images“An undated recent file picture shows prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who resigned suddenly on May 16, 2010 in Riyadh from the […]

Donald Trump

Trump to Keep Troops in Iraq as Spies on Iran, but determined to withdraw From Syria, Afghanistan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump spoke on foreign policy Sunday on “Face The Nation,” further explaining his thinking on US troops in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. He seems to have made it clear that the US troop presence in Iraq is not, as advertised, to help Baghdad mop up ISIL remnants but rather to […]

Saudi Arabia

Top Ten Reasons Saudi Women are Running away from their Country

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – Rahaf Mohammed, the Saudi woman who managed to successfully flee her allegedly abusive family, has shed new light on the countless women trapped under the abusive male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia, Human Rights Watch said today. Women face systematic discrimination and are left exposed to domestic violence under the […]

Yemen

UN: Saudi-Led War on Yemen has Killed 6,700 Children, Left 358,000 Severely Malnourished

Middle East Monitor

More than 6700 children have been killed since the outbreak of the Yemen war in 2015, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) announced yesterday. “Around 358,000 Yemeni children suffer from severe acute malnutrition,” UNICEF said on Twitter, stressing that the victims required “immediate treatment.” The UN organisation called for “halting attacks” against children […]