Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

Donate

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • Email
  • RSS
  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2019 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Month
  • 2019
    • December 2019 (24)
    • November 2019 (113)
    • October 2019 (119)
    • September 2019 (117)
    • August 2019 (101)
    • July 2019 (126)
    • June 2019 (122)
    • May 2019 (130)
    • April 2019 (119)
    • March 2019 (143)
    • February 2019 (130)
    • January 2019 (152)
  • 2018
    • December 2018 (160)
    • November 2018 (137)
    • October 2018 (154)
    • September 2018 (142)
    • August 2018 (147)
    • July 2018 (137)
    • June 2018 (132)
    • May 2018 (136)
    • April 2018 (133)
    • March 2018 (126)
    • February 2018 (116)
    • January 2018 (131)
  • 2017
    • December 2017 (132)
    • November 2017 (134)
    • October 2017 (146)
    • September 2017 (127)
    • August 2017 (130)
    • July 2017 (121)
    • June 2017 (125)
    • May 2017 (126)
    • April 2017 (127)
    • March 2017 (139)
    • February 2017 (135)
    • January 2017 (127)
  • 2016
    • December 2016 (124)
    • November 2016 (116)
    • October 2016 (115)
    • September 2016 (95)
    • August 2016 (66)
    • July 2016 (109)
    • June 2016 (114)
    • May 2016 (128)
    • April 2016 (157)
    • March 2016 (156)
    • February 2016 (162)
    • January 2016 (149)
  • 2015
    • December 2015 (153)
    • November 2015 (156)
    • October 2015 (147)
    • September 2015 (149)
    • August 2015 (153)
    • July 2015 (151)
    • June 2015 (152)
    • May 2015 (145)
    • April 2015 (148)
    • March 2015 (147)
    • February 2015 (136)
    • January 2015 (155)
  • 2014
    • December 2014 (157)
    • November 2014 (150)
    • October 2014 (138)
    • September 2014 (139)
    • August 2014 (151)
    • July 2014 (156)
    • June 2014 (146)
    • May 2014 (160)
    • April 2014 (146)
    • March 2014 (143)
    • February 2014 (122)
    • January 2014 (181)
  • 2013
    • December 2013 (166)
    • November 2013 (62)
    • October 2013 (62)
    • September 2013 (69)
    • August 2013 (76)
    • July 2013 (118)
    • June 2013 (109)
    • May 2013 (109)
    • April 2013 (85)
    • March 2013 (89)
    • February 2013 (70)
    • January 2013 (73)
  • 2012
    • December 2012 (96)
    • November 2012 (76)
    • October 2012 (92)
    • September 2012 (74)
    • August 2012 (66)
    • July 2012 (99)
    • June 2012 (77)
    • May 2012 (76)
    • April 2012 (98)
    • March 2012 (107)
    • February 2012 (93)
    • January 2012 (64)
  • 2011
    • December 2011 (60)
    • November 2011 (51)
    • October 2011 (41)
    • September 2011 (39)
    • August 2011 (42)
    • July 2011 (36)
    • June 2011 (49)
    • May 2011 (64)
    • April 2011 (62)
    • March 2011 (54)
    • February 2011 (52)
    • January 2011 (74)
  • 2010
    • December 2010 (79)
    • November 2010 (57)
    • October 2010 (65)
    • September 2010 (58)
    • August 2010 (56)
    • July 2010 (51)
    • June 2010 (59)
    • May 2010 (41)
    • April 2010 (48)
    • March 2010 (52)
    • February 2010 (51)
    • January 2010 (73)
  • 2009
    • December 2009 (65)
    • November 2009 (70)
    • October 2009 (49)
    • September 2009 (53)
    • August 2009 (60)
    • July 2009 (65)
    • June 2009 (78)
    • May 2009 (56)
    • April 2009 (52)
    • March 2009 (78)
    • February 2009 (46)
    • January 2009 (94)
  • 2008
    • December 2008 (84)
    • November 2008 (105)
    • October 2008 (75)
    • September 2008 (84)
    • August 2008 (84)
    • July 2008 (66)
    • June 2008 (62)
    • May 2008 (66)
    • April 2008 (47)
    • March 2008 (49)
    • February 2008 (43)
    • January 2008 (61)
  • 2007
    • December 2007 (63)
    • November 2007 (69)
    • October 2007 (67)
    • September 2007 (68)
    • August 2007 (95)
    • July 2007 (74)
    • June 2007 (59)
    • May 2007 (82)
    • April 2007 (56)
    • March 2007 (51)
    • February 2007 (50)
    • January 2007 (61)
  • 2006
    • December 2006 (49)
    • November 2006 (45)
    • October 2006 (55)
    • September 2006 (63)
    • August 2006 (94)
    • July 2006 (91)
    • June 2006 (72)
    • May 2006 (85)
    • April 2006 (69)
    • March 2006 (66)
    • February 2006 (53)
    • January 2006 (62)
  • 2005
    • December 2005 (60)
    • November 2005 (77)
    • October 2005 (76)
    • September 2005 (77)
    • August 2005 (86)
    • July 2005 (95)
    • June 2005 (85)
    • May 2005 (79)
    • April 2005 (76)
    • March 2005 (81)
    • February 2005 (69)
    • January 2005 (63)
  • 2004
    • December 2004 (80)
    • November 2004 (86)
    • October 2004 (77)
    • September 2004 (67)
    • August 2004 (99)
    • July 2004 (98)
    • June 2004 (102)
    • May 2004 (172)
    • April 2004 (114)
    • March 2004 (130)
    • February 2004 (131)
    • January 2004 (118)
  • 2003
    • December 2003 (128)
    • November 2003 (139)
    • October 2003 (166)
    • September 2003 (134)
    • August 2003 (36)
    • July 2003 (33)
    • June 2003 (29)
    • May 2003 (34)
    • April 2003 (31)
    • March 2003 (25)
    • February 2003 (25)
    • January 2003 (31)
  • 2002
    • December 2002 (16)
    • November 2002 (19)
    • October 2002 (30)
    • September 2002 (29)
    • August 2002 (17)
    • July 2002 (15)
    • June 2002 (4)
    • May 2002 (3)
    • April 2002 (8)
Category
  • Africa (135)
    • Cameroon (1)
    • Djibouti (2)
    • Eritrea (1)
    • Ethiopia (4)
    • Kenya (6)
    • Nigeria (16)
    • Senegal (1)
    • Somalia (13)
    • South Africa (12)
    • South Sudan (6)
    • Sudan (21)
    • Zimbabwe (1)
  • Animals (1)
  • Asia (740)
    • Central Asia (13)
    • East Asia (132)
      • China (104)
        • Hong Kong (1)
      • Japan (13)
      • North Korea (20)
      • South Korea (5)
    • South Asia (570)
      • Afghanistan (359)
        • Taliban (101)
      • Bangladesh (8)
      • India (68)
      • Nepal (2)
      • Pakistan (205)
        • Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (1)
        • FATA (30)
        • Haqqani Network (13)
        • Nawaz Sharif (8)
        • Pakistan People's Party (3)
        • Zardari (2)
    • Southeast Asia (40)
      • Indonesia (1)
      • Myanmar (34)
      • Thailand (2)
  • Authoritarianism (131)
  • Cats (1)
  • Culture (381)
    • art and photography (60)
    • Books (35)
      • The New Arabs (4)
    • Dance (3)
    • Entertainment (71)
      • Humor (45)
        • Cartoon (6)
      • Sports (4)
    • film (42)
    • Graphic Novel (5)
    • Music (38)
    • poetry (148)
      • Omar Khayyam (128)
    • Popular Culture (9)
    • Science Fiction (6)
    • Television (4)
  • Dehydration (1)
  • Democracy (187)
    • Elections (95)
  • Dissent (266)
  • Economy (580)
    • Banking (38)
    • Democratic Socialism (11)
    • Development (13)
    • Employment (44)
    • Inequality (164)
    • Investment (43)
    • Middle Class (47)
    • Neoliberalism (23)
    • Plutocracy (328)
    • Poverty (47)
    • Trade (87)
    • Weapons sales (1)
  • Education (61)
    • Universities (21)
  • Elderly (2)
  • Energy (956)
    • Coal (66)
    • Fossil Fuels (177)
    • Fracking (39)
    • Geothermal (4)
    • Green Energy (212)
    • Natural Gas (41)
    • Nuclear Energy (99)
    • Petroleum (142)
    • Solar Energy (154)
    • Tar Sands (13)
    • Wave Energy (3)
    • wind energy (106)
  • Environment (1,281)
    • Climate Change (867)
      • Acidification of Oceans (44)
      • Dehydration (2)
      • Denialism (83)
      • Desertification (103)
      • Extreme Weather (156)
      • Flooding (20)
      • Green New Deal (4)
      • Mass Extinction (6)
      • Methane (8)
      • Sea Level (166)
      • Soil Carbon Release (5)
      • Super Storms (21)
    • Climate Crisis (66)
    • Drought (21)
    • Environmentalism (183)
    • Green Transportation (91)
    • Ice Melt (31)
    • Pollution (129)
    • Water (42)
  • Europe (681)
    • Eastern Europe (356)
      • Balkans (5)
      • Hungary (2)
      • Russia (335)
        • Chechnya (3)
      • Ukraine (38)
    • Eurasia (6)
      • Armenia (1)
      • Shanghai Cooperation Council (2)
      • Shanhai Cooperation Council (1)
    • European Union (269)
      • Austria (2)
      • Belgium (10)
      • Denmark (2)
      • France (75)
      • Germany (55)
      • Greece (4)
      • Ireland (3)
      • Italy (5)
      • Netherlands (6)
      • Poland (1)
      • Scotland (4)
      • Spain (14)
      • Sweden (6)
    • Norway (3)
    • United Kingdom (76)
  • Featured (2,268)
  • fiction (5)
    • Comic Books (1)
    • Fall of the New Year Throne (1)
    • Flash Fiction (1)
  • Food (7)
  • Guns (9)
  • History (199)
    • Archaeology (25)
    • Cold War (10)
    • Colonialism (77)
    • Ottoman Empire (10)
    • slavery (2)
  • Human Rights (930)
    • Apartheid (235)
    • censorship (147)
    • Death Penalty (2)
    • Displaced and Refugees (423)
    • Gay rights (6)
    • Human Rights Watch (66)
    • Slavery and Trafficking (7)
    • Torture (49)
    • War Crimes (246)
    • War Rape (3)
  • Immigration (17)
  • International (666)
    • Arms Sales (28)
    • Corruption (165)
    • Crime (73)
      • Drugs (9)
    • Domestic Terrorism (11)
    • Drones (91)
    • Health (153)
      • Addiction (3)
      • Epidemics (15)
      • Food Security (13)
      • Health Care (64)
      • Mental Health (21)
    • Politics (182)
      • Far Right (56)
      • Left Politics (52)
    • Politics&Culture (15)
  • Islamophobia (276)
  • Juan Cole (265)
  • Latin America (60)
    • Brazil (6)
    • Caribbean (2)
    • Costa Rica (1)
    • Cuba (4)
    • Mexico (6)
    • Venezuela (5)
  • Latinos (3)
  • leisure (21)
    • Intoxicants (3)
    • Sports (2)
  • media (352)
    • Internet (128)
      • social media (94)
    • journalism (198)
      • Political Cartoons (1)
    • television (11)
  • Middle East (6,633)
    • Arab World (4,377)
      • Algeria (9)
      • Arab Spring (79)
      • Bahrain (50)
      • Egypt (453)
      • GCC (46)
      • Gulf (29)
      • Iraq (1,721)
        • Iraq War (233)
      • Jordan (21)
      • Kuwait (18)
      • Lebanon (89)
        • Hizbullah (32)
      • Libya (195)
        • Gaddafi (1)
      • Morocco (12)
      • Palestine (444)
        • Hamas (8)
      • Qatar (70)
      • Saudi Arabia (478)
      • Sudan (6)
      • Syria (1,014)
        • Bashar al-Assad (126)
        • Free Syrian Army (85)
      • Tunisia (93)
      • UAE (60)
      • Yemen (337)
        • Houthi (84)
        • Saleh (40)
    • Iran (764)
    • Israel (664)
      • Haredim (12)
      • Israel Lobby (82)
      • Mizrahim (6)
      • Palestinian-Israelis (28)
    • Israel/ Palestine (1,697)
      • Gaza (1)
    • Israel/Palestine (8)
    • Kurds (259)
    • Turkey (406)
  • military (103)
  • Modernism (1)
  • nationalism (98)
  • NATO (5)
  • Natural Disasters (11)
  • nuclear weapons (44)
  • Patriarchy (1)
  • Peace (67)
    • Nonviolence (16)
  • Persian mythology (1)
  • Popular Culture (22)
    • Comic Books (1)
    • Zombies (3)
  • Poverty (7)
  • privacy (19)
  • racism (276)
  • Rape (5)
  • religion (755)
    • Buddhism (24)
    • Christianity (122)
      • Assyrians (11)
      • Chaldeans (9)
      • Copts (10)
      • Dominionism (1)
      • Papacy (21)
      • Protestants (3)
      • Roman Catholicism (15)
    • Eastern Orthodox (7)
    • Fundamentalism (5)
    • Hindu Nationalism (4)
    • Hinduism (1)
    • Islam (589)
      • political Islam (215)
        • Muslim Brotherhood (25)
      • Qur'an (46)
      • Shiites (228)
        • Alawites (6)
        • Alevis (2)
        • Druze (5)
        • Ismailis (1)
        • Zaidis (20)
      • Sufism (15)
      • Sunnis (188)
        • Salafis (62)
      • Wahhabis (32)
    • Jewish History (31)
      • Holocaust (7)
    • Judaism (70)
      • Antisemitism (13)
    • Millenarianism (1)
    • Sikhism (1)
    • Yezidis (15)
    • Zoroastrianism (1)
  • Rights (125)
    • BDS (12)
    • BDS Occupied Territories (34)
    • Gay Rights (2)
    • Privacy (14)
    • Torturers (30)
  • Romance (1)
  • science (99)
    • Artificial Intelligence (1)
    • astronomy and outer space (23)
    • Evolution (6)
    • Mass Extinction (2)
    • Technology (18)
      • Domestic drones (2)
  • Secular (West) (7)
  • Secularism (21)
  • Sexual Assault (2)
  • South Pacific (1)
  • Spirituality (20)
    • Meditation (1)
    • Sufism (9)
  • Statelessness (14)
  • Surveillance (255)
    • Corporate Surveillance (11)
    • Domestic Surveillance (167)
    • Government surveillance (215)
  • Terrorism (1,012)
    • al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula (37)
    • al-Qaeda (175)
    • Al-Shabab (2)
    • Boko Haram (10)
    • Counter-Terrorism (59)
    • Far Right (21)
    • Irgun (2)
    • Islamic Jihad (2)
    • Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (600)
    • Israeli Squatters (34)
    • Jabhat al-Nusra (86)
    • Pakistan Taliban (49)
    • PKK (3)
  • Tolerance (4)
  • Uncategorized (8,027)
  • United Nations (64)
    • International Criminal Court (8)
  • Urbanization (3)
  • US Foreign Policy (468)
  • US politics (3,141)
    • Anti-War Movement (5)
    • Campaign Finance (24)
    • Censors (21)
    • Central Intelligence Agency (56)
    • Civil Rights (76)
    • Congress (8)
    • Constitution (260)
      • Bill of Rights (147)
    • crime (3)
      • rape (3)
    • Democratic Party (452)
      • Barack Obama (224)
      • Bernie Sanders (83)
      • Elizabeth Warren (8)
      • Hillary Clinton (77)
      • Obama (4)
    • Democratic Socialists of America (5)
    • Domestic Terrorism (15)
    • Drone Warfare (24)
    • Espionage (113)
      • CIA (46)
      • National Security Agency (60)
    • Ethnicities (222)
      • African-Americans (128)
      • Arab Americans (66)
      • Asian-Americans (5)
      • Iranian-Americans (11)
      • Latinos (64)
    • Far Right (157)
      • Steve Bannon (46)
    • FBI (35)
    • Foreign Policy (197)
    • Gay Rights (12)
    • Guns (63)
    • Immigration (166)
    • Israel Lobbies (74)
    • Marijuana (1)
    • Militarization (209)
    • National Security State (367)
    • Native Americans (20)
    • Nuclear arsenal (5)
    • penitentiaries (6)
    • Pentagon (274)
    • Police (19)
    • prison reform (3)
    • Puerto Rico (25)
    • Religious Right (1)
    • Reproductive Choice (7)
    • Republican Party (1,857)
      • Bush (71)
        • Richard Bruce Cheney (36)
      • Donald Trump (1,170)
      • Neoconservatives (11)
    • Supreme Court (43)
    • Voter suppression (19)
    • Whistleblowers (4)
    • Xenophobia (7)
  • Veterans (19)
  • Voting Rights (4)
  • War (235)
    • Chemical Weapons (11)
    • Nuclear weapons (13)
  • Western Religion (353)
    • American Jews (14)
    • Christians (53)
      • Fundamentalists (33)
    • Islam-hatred (219)
    • Muslim-Americans (201)
    • Roman Catholics (6)
    • US Buddhism (1)
    • Western Jews (31)
      • Antisemitism (17)
      • Zionism (10)
    • Western Muslims (64)
  • White Supremacists (50)
  • wikileaks (8)
  • women (269)
    • Feminism (40)
  • workers (118)
  • Writing (5)
  • Youth (112)
    • Children (40)

Yemen

Yemen
Yemen: The Good News is Peace Deal may halt Saudi-UAE Proxy Fight: Bad News, 6 Mn on Verge of Starvation

Yemen: The Good News is Peace Deal may halt Saudi-UAE Proxy Fight: Bad News, 6 Mn on Verge of Starvation

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

London (Informed Comment) – Distant hopes for peace in Yemen were revitalized following the finalizing of a draft agreement on October 27, to unify the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Southern Transitional Council, after tensions had erupted between both sides. On the surface, the deal would aim to end a deadly stand-off between […]

Houthi
Is Najran the Saudi Frontline in its Failing Yemen War, or its Achilles Heel?

Is Najran the Saudi Frontline in its Failing Yemen War, or its Achilles Heel?

Middle East Monitor

By Omar Ahmed | – The 14th century Arab historian Ibn Khaldun is famed for his treatise Al-Muqqadimah and is regarded as “the father of social science”; he wrote about the rise and fall of states and civilisations. Tunis-born, his ancestors hailed from Yemen’s Hadramawt. He is notable for popularising the notion of ‘asabiyya which […]

Saudi Arabia
Saudi looks ‘positively’ at Yemeni truce proposal

Saudi looks ‘positively’ at Yemeni truce proposal

Middle East Monitor

Saudi Prince Khalid Bin Salman believes that his country looks “positively” at the truce proposal announced by Houthis in Yemen, Arabi21.com reported on Friday. In a series of tweets, the prince wrote “we look positively at the truce announced by Yemen because this is what we have been seeking. We hope it is really implemented.” […]

Featured
Saudis Riposted to drive Houthis from Najran, after Defeat of Saudi-Backed Yemeni Nationalists

Saudis Riposted to drive Houthis from Najran, after Defeat of Saudi-Backed Yemeni Nationalists

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The details of the alleged Houthi operation against Saudi Arabia are still murky, and Saudi Arabia has so far declined to provide its side of the story. Al Jazeera Arabic on Sunday rounded up the details provided by the Houthis and by its Yemeni sources. First of all, Al Jazeera […]

Featured
Yemen’s Houthis Say they Invaded Saudi Arabia, Captured Thousands of Troops in Najran

Yemen’s Houthis Say they Invaded Saudi Arabia, Captured Thousands of Troops in Najran

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Update 9/30: The Houthi military operation appears to have been against Saudi-backed nationalist bases in the far north of Yemen, and the POWs taken seem to be mostly Yemeni nationalists, along with some Saudi officers and troops. There may have been Houthi infiltration of Najran and Jizan as well, but […]

Houthi
No, Yemen’s Houthis are not Simply a Proxy of Iran

No, Yemen’s Houthis are not Simply a Proxy of Iran

The Conversation

By Vincent Durac | – The attacks on oil production facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais in Saudi Arabia have drawn renewed focus on Yemen’s Houthi movement, which claimed responsibility for the strikes. Whether these claims are true or or not – the US and Saudi Arabia allege that Iran was more directly involved in the […]

Arms Sales
Despite Brutal Yemen War, will Saudis stock up at London’s Arms Fair?

Despite Brutal Yemen War, will Saudis stock up at London’s Arms Fair?

Human Rights Watch

Conduct in Yemen War Means UK Government Should Not Resume Arms Sales

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi-United Arab Emirates Game of Thrones in Yemen

Middle East Monitor

By Mareb Al-Ward | – Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are exchanging roles in Yemen. While the former pretends to be completely biased in favour of the legitimacy, which requested its interference, the latter has adopted a clear position in favour of its military militias in the south. It is true that there is a difference […]

Donald Trump
Trump  Awaits orders from Saudis; and Why the Houthis could have Done It

Trump Awaits orders from Saudis; and Why the Houthis could have Done It

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s bizarre infatuation with strongmen and dictators was on full display in his response to Saturday’s drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities. As our foremost Gulf expert, Kristian Ulrichsen, noted, The way you phrase it sounds like you are waiting for the Saudis to tell you what to do. […]

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • …
  • Page 38
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Juan Cole Fundraiser
DONATED:$1,618
SUPPORTERS:25
TARGET:$35,000
REMAINING:$33,382

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter and have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.


Support Us

Help keep independent journalism alive and donate online, or make checks payable to:
"Juan Cole"
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
(No parcels, please)
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2019 All Rights Reserved