Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a dramatic signal that the Arab Gulf nations have completely lost faith in the American security umbrella, on Wednesday […]
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Croken: Found in Translation– How a Thirteenth Century Islamic Poet Conquered America
Ryan Croken on translating the mystical poet Rumi, and on how Muslims are translated and mistranslated in America. Jalal al-Din Rumi was born in Afghanistan, […]
Obama on the Middle East
The transcript of President Obama’s interview on al-Arabiya Television (Dubai)is at the latter’s site and I will mirror it here, below. Just a few quick […]
Blog of the Day
A shout out to comedian Margaret Cho, whose material I’ve always found fresh, insightful and funny. As a public speaker who sometimes delves into humor, […]
Cole/ Marsh Debate on Obama’s Bombing of Pakistan
My Democratic Party colleague Taylor Marsh took exception to my Salon piece on Obama’s decision to bomb Pakistan during his first week in office. I […]
Iraqi Politicians seek Wins in Provincial Elections
The big news in Iraq this week is the provincial elections due to be held on Saturday. These elections will have little direct impact on […]
Cole in Salon: Obama’s Vietnam?
My column is out in Salon.com: “Obama’s Vietnam? Friday’s airstrikes are evidence Obama will take the hard line he promised in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But […]
Lyons: The Crusades are Over; The West needs to Engage with the Muslims
Jonathan Lyons writes in a guest op-ed for IC: With the change of administration in Washington, the time has come to acknowledge the so-called war […]
Gaza War! Hunh! What was it Good For?
According to UNICEF, their preliminary estimate of the damage done by the Israeli military to Gaza infrastructure is $1.9 billion. Note that this is Gaza […]
Sunday Reading
Don’t miss Barney Rubin’s long and personal meditation in the Boston Review on his involvement in Afghanistan diplomacy over the past decades. The depth of […]
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