Arab World

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – GOP frontrunner Donald Trump openly attributes his success at the polls to the terrorist attacks on Paris last fall, in which Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) was involved. Ever since Mosul fell to the organization (originally al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia) in June of 2014, it has provoked great concern […]

Arms Sales

American Bombs Killing Civilians in Yemen, Report Finds

contributors

By Nika Knight, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – “One of the deadliest strikes against civilians in Yemen’s year-long war involved U.S.-supplied weapons” The year-long campaign of Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen reached a new low last month with a deliberate attack on a marketplace full of civilians that killed over 100, including 25 children, […]

Corruption

Syria: Al-Assad Family’s Massive Stolen Wealth in Panama Papers helps explain Revolution

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The revelation in the leaked Panama Papers that Mossack Fonseca and Swiss bank HSBC serviced the companies of corrupt Syrian billionaire Rami Makhlouf (first cousin of dictator Bashar al-Assad) long after the US imposed sanctions on him is a reminder of why Syrians revolted against the […]

Iraq

Occupied by ISIL, Besieged by Iraq & US: People of Fallujah lack Food, Firewood

contributors

By Kamal al-Ayash | (Niqash.org) | – – In Islamic State-run Fallujah, locals say they’re running out of everything, including food and medicine. They’re running out furniture too now, as most households are using it to fuel cooking fires. In the courtyard of her house, local woman Um Ahmad is preparing a fire pit. She’s […]

Displaced and Refugees

Dear GOP: Top Myths about Syrian Refugees, refuted by Actual Facts

contributors

By Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – Following the March 2016 bombings in Brussels, Donald Trump stated: We have to be smart … We’re taking in people without real documentation. We don’t know where they are coming from … they could be ISIS-related. Not to be outdone, Sen. Ted Cruz added: We […]

Arab World

After the Youth Revolts: Can the Arab Thug-ocracies ever be Reformed?

contributors

By Yezid Sayigh | (Project Syndicate) | – – WASHINGTON, DC – Experience across the Arab world demonstrates that when it comes to security-sector reform, technocratic approaches are inadequate. Simply put, a technocratic focus on upgrading skills and operational capability, in the absence of improved governance of the security services, can be easily subverted by […]

Featured

Syrian Ceasefire in Tatters as al-Qaeda & allies attack in South Aleppo

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The London pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reports that the rebel opposition allied with al-Qaeda broke the ceasefire Saturday morning, taking several villages and towns in the southern hinterlands of Aleppo. The attack was launched with suicide car-bombers who detonated their payload, targeting Syrian Arab Army troops and […]

Climate Change

3 Surprising reasons Saudi Arabia may be getting out of the Oil Business

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman announced Friday that Saudi Arabia would use its oil assets to back a $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund. The move suggested to many observers that the kingdom is preparing for a likely end of the petroleum business and transitioning to […]