Arab World

Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia’s first codified law on personal status, issued on International Women’s Day in 2022, formally enshrines male guardianship over women, Human Rights Watch said today. The law contains discriminatory provisions against women concerning marriage, divorce, and decisions about their children. The Personal Status Law, issued on March […]

Iraq

Ukraine and the Lessons of the Iraq War

John Feffer

By John Feffer | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Leaving aside the manufactured justifications, the United States invaded Iraq in 2003 to reassert U.S. power in the Middle East and reduce the influence of Iran. It wasn’t terrorism or yellow cake or even Saddam Hussein’s appalling human rights abuses that motivated one […]

Featured

Why are We There? Biden Bombs Syria, after Drone Kills US Contractor, wounds 5 US Military Personnel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden ordered air strikes on Thursday (Friday in Syria) against militiamen in the Harabish neighborhood just outside the city of Deir az-Zor, who are suspected of having launched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone against an American base in northeast Syria. The metro area of Deir az-Zor […]

Featured

Hypocrisy: Putin should be Punished as a War Criminal, but so Should many in Washington, D.C.

Peter G. Prontzos

Vancouver (Feature, Special to Informed Comment) – It’s true – Russian president Vladimir Putin is a war criminal. As I wrote when the conflict with Ukraine began: “the attack on Ukraine was a clear violation of international law, and there is absolutely no excuse for this invasion.” In fact, launching a war of aggression is […]

Arab World

On World Water Day: By 2036, 18 of World’s Water-Scarce Countries will be in Middle East

Middle East Monitor

Elif Selin Calik CalikSelin ( Middle East Monitor ) – The Middle East may have an abundance of oil and gas, but it has very few natural water sources. This is fast becoming a source of tension. According to three UN Secretaries-General, water may well be the cause of future conflict […]

Israel Lobbies

For the first time in US History, Sympathy for Palestinians has overtaken Sympathy for Israelis among Democrats

Middle East Monitor

US sympathy for Palestinians at unprecedented level as Israel’s image is hit ( Middle East Monitor ) – For the first time in US history, sympathy for Palestinians has overtaken sympathy for Israelis among Democrats, according to the latest Gallup poll. Nearly half of Democrats — 49 per cent — have greater sympathy for Palestinians […]

China

Juan Cole: The Meaning of Historic China-Brokered Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Iran (Robert Scheer Interview)

Juan Cole

Transcript of Interview from Scheerpost , where you can also find the audio if you want to listen to the interview. Host: Robert Scheer | Producer: Joshua Scheer | – Transcript Robert Scheer: Hi, this is Robert Scheer with another edition of Scheer Intelligence, where the intelligence comes from my guests and someone I’ve had […]

Iraq

Two Decades after the US War on Iraq began, the disastrous Consequences of the Conflict are still being Felt

Michael Jansen

Michael Jansen ( The Irish Times ) – The US war on Iraq, launched 20 years ago on Monday, became a significant turning point for the eastern Arab world due to the fall of a third key country from the regional front designed to secure the sovereignty and independence of the region. […]

Arab World

Still “Not Free:” Bush’s Invasion of Iraq did not result in Democracy there or in the Arab World

The Conversation

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 – […]