Middle East

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Frenemies Russia and Turkey have put their conflict in Syria on hold, but they have intensified their rivalry in another proxy conflict. In Libya, clashes between Moscow-backed Libyan National Army (LNA) and Ankara-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) escalated, as the US Africa Command accused Kremlin of deploying military […]

Afghanistan

Will our Post-Pandemic Forever Wars be Fought at a Social Distance?

Danny Sjursen

( Tomdispatch.com) – Covid-19, an ongoing global human tragedy, may have at least one silver lining. It has led millions of people to question America’s most malignant policies at home and abroad. Regarding Washington’s war policies abroad, there’s been speculation that the coronavirus might, in the end, put a dent in such conflicts, if not […]

Featured

Lapid warns of “Civil War” as Netanyahu Accuses Courts of Conspiracy and Pledges to Steal 1/3 of Palestine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Israel’s i24 reports that Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed his Likud Party on Monday and said that he will move forward with the annexation of one third of the Palestinian West Bank in July “with wisdom” and with the “unity of all forces.” On Sunday, the Israeli courts began […]

Epidemics

500,000 Yemenis displaced by Renewed Fighting Face Coronavirus Dangers

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Beirut) – Civilians fleeing renewed fighting in northern Yemen are particularly vulnerable to the Covid-19 pandemic, Human Rights Watch said today. Fighting in Marib governorate between Houthi forces and the Saudi-led coalition and their Yemeni government allies has moved closer to overcrowded camps for internally displaced people that have inadequate health […]

Afghanistan

On Memorial Day: How the US Lost its “Battle of Aqaba” to the Coronavirus

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On July 6, 1917, Auda Abu Tayy led his Howeitat tribesmen in a successful attack on the Ottoman port of Aqaba in what is now Jordan but was then the Ottoman Empire. The Arabs of the Hejaz or Western Arabia and the Transjordan had allied with the British to revolt […]

Authoritarianism

Is Trump Ally Saudi Arabia moving toward Tolerance or Fear?

Bill Law

( Middle East Monitor ) – 21 May marked UNESCO’s World Day for Cultural Diversity and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a heavy contributor of UNESCO, released a beautifully shot and edited one-minute video that concluded with the words: “Saudi Arabia’s diversity is a rich and evolving story.” The following day, Saudi media outlets released […]

Constitution

DOJ is Dropping charges against Trump Buddy Flynn even though he was a Turkish Agent while at NSC

Reese Erlich

(48hills.org) – Trump’s Justice Department wants to drop all charges against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn despite his having admitted to being guilty. Twice. The judge in his case has so far refused to knuckle under and is investigating whether Flynn’s conviction should stand. In 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI […]

Israel/ Palestine

As Corrupt Netanyahu goes on Trial, former Israeli PM Olmert says he Runs Lawless “Mafia”

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor) – After a long and complicated process that lasted 18 months, the largest Israeli political factions, the Likud and Blue and White have formed a government . . . Israeli journalist Oren Ziv told me that there is a crisis of confidence facing Netanyahu and stressed that the delay of the […]

Featured

The End of the Oslo Accords: Palestinians pull out of Agreements in face of Netanyahu’s Sudetenland Moment

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced after a cabinet meeting that his government will move to implement the end of Palestinian cooperation with Israel and the United States and its withdrawal from all agreements it had signed with them. The steps were announced Tuesday by President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas had […]