Middle East

By Balsam Mustafa | (The Conversation) | – – After an offensive lasting nearly nine months, the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, walked through the streets of Mosul on July 9 after Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition airstrikes “liberated” the city from so-called Islamic State (IS). Abadi was there to congratulate security forces for […]

Corruption

Hobby Lobby caught smuggling Iraqi Antiquities (TYT)

contributors

Cenk Uygur and Brett Erlich | (The Young Turks News Video) || – – “Hobby Lobby just got caught smuggling. Cenk Uygur and Brett Erlich, the hosts of The Young Turks, tell you what they were smuggling. “(CNN)Hobby Lobby agreed to forfeit thousands of artifacts from modern-day Iraq and pay a $3 million fine to […]

Featured

Iraqi Gov’t declares “mighty Triumph” over ISIL in Mosul, as Sunni Press decries Casualties

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Al-Mada reports that 24 hours after Mosul was completely liberated from the hold of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi visited it and walked around the city. Photos on his official Twitter site showed him in black military garb. Al-Abadi convened a meeting with leaders […]

journalism

Al Jazeera Defies Saudi Bloc’s pressure to close: ‘Journalism itself is under Siege’

contributors

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain want Al Jazeera – including AJ+ – to be shut down. Here’s what Al Jazeera journalists think of that.” Al Jazeera Responds To The Qatar-Gulf Crisis | AJ+

Foreign Policy

Syria: US & Russia Agree to Ceasefire, De-Escalation: But will it Hold?

contributors

TeleSur | – – Rex Tillerson praised the agreement as indicative of future cooperation in Syria, but also said that the United States still sees no “long-term role” for the Assad government. The United States and Russia have cooperated to negotiate a ceasefire in the southwest region of Syria, an agreement which will involve a […]

Donald Trump

New Neocon Mantra: Hit Iran, b/c like Soviet Union, it is Collapsing

contributors

By Jim Lobe | (Inter Press Service) | – – WASHINGTON, (IPS) – Iran hawks suddenly have a new mantra: the Islamic Republic is the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, and the Trump administration should work to hasten the regime’s impending collapse. It’s not clear why this comparison has surfaced so abruptly. Its proponents […]

European Union

Can Total’s Gas deal in Iran vindicate the Nuclear Deal?

contributors

By Meysam Tayebipour | (The Conversation) | – – Nine years ago, when sanctions were imposed on Iran by the international community, Total was the last Western energy company to suspend its activity there. Now, following the lifting of nuclear sanctions on Iran in January 2016, Total is the first Western company to return to […]

Donald Trump

Do an Unstable President and a Reckless Prince threaten the World?

contributors

By Dilip Hiro | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – The Middle East. Could there be a more perilous place on Earth, including North Korea? Not likely. The planet’s two leading nuclear armed powers backing battling proxies amply supplied with conventional weapons; terror groups splitting and spreading; religious-sectarian wars threatening amid a plethora of ongoing armed […]

Iraq

Why Mosul Matters

contributors

The Economist | (Video News Report) | – – “Mosul stands on the brink of recapture from Islamic State fighters, but the future of the city is uncertain. With several parties jostling for control of Mosul, fragile alliances could fracture, increasing the likelihood of bloody sectarian conflict.” The Economist: “Why Mosul Matters”