4 Nations twist Qatar’s arm, to close down Aljazeera
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In a bid completely to return the…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In a bid completely to return the…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - al-Hayat (Life) reports that on Wednesday evening…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The epic battle in the Trump White…
Foreign Policy
US Reputation under Trump Tanking, Costing Economy Billions
By Daniel Korschun, Boryana V Dimitrova, and Yoto V. Yotov | (The Conversation) | - - U.S. News and World Report recently published its annual “Best Countries” ranking, based on how thousands…What is the Sunni-Shiite Divide into Which Trump just Stepped?
Ken Chitwood | (The Conversation) | - - In his address in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, May 21, while calling on Muslim leaders to lead the fight against terrorism, President Donald Trump…Trump, Saudi Arabia and yet another arms deal
Russell E. Lucas, Michigan State University The first stop on Donald Trump’s first trip as U.S. president was to Saudi Arabia. That was no accident. His decision was surely based on the…Terror and Geopolitics: Manchester 2017 and 1996
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Manchester, UK, was hit with the deadliest bomb attack on Monday since a June Saturday morning in 1996, when a massive 3000 lb.…Rouhani’s win a Victory for Reform, will Trump waste Opportunity?
By Shahram Akbarzadeh | (Informed Comment) | - - In Iran's election, Hassan Rouhani’s re-election was not a forgone conclusion. Criticism of Rouhani’s performance focused on growing unemployment, as the economy was…Erdogan, Trump, the Russians and General Flynn: The Tangled Web
By Carl Max Kortepeter | (Informed Comment) | - - When Sally Yates testified that she had told the Trump Organization, before his appointment as National Security Adviser, that General Flynn was…Was/Is there an Islamic Enlightenment? (de Bellaigue)
William Eichler interviews Christopher de Bellaigue | Informed Comment | - - Eichler: 1. In the conclusion to The Islamic Enlightenment you describe modern jihadists as “miracle-grow Muslims” who have been “incubated…America Should stay the Course with Rouhani
By Robert Harvey | (Project Syndicate) | - - LONDON – Hassan Rouhani has won re-election as Iran’s president in a landslide, meaning that it is he who will be dealing with…Trump on Islam: Neo-Orientalism and anti-Shi’ism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Trump's speech on Islam, written by notorious Islamophobe Stephen Miller, who used to organize Orwellian Two Minutes Hate sessions against Muslims at Duke,…Trump in Absolute Monarchy during Iran’s Election
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The spectacle of Trump and of cronies such as alt-Neo-Nazi Steve Bannon hobnobbing with the Saudi monarchy, of the president curtsying to King…Alabama Passes Bill to Protect Confederate Monuments even at cost of Economy
TeleSur | - - Some Southern cities are rethinking the appropriateness of keeping such emblems on public property. Not Alabama. Alabama lawmakers on Friday approved a bill that prohibits the removal of…Palestinians: ‘Day of Rage’ against Trump in occupied West Bank
Ma'an News Agency | - - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Palestinian factions in the central occupied West Bank city of Ramallah have called upon the Palestinian people to partake in a "Day of…Are Iran and Saudi Arabia Heading Toward War?
By Mohammed Nuruzzaman | (Informed Comment) | - - Relations across the Persian Gulf are deteriorating fast. Iran and Saudi Arabia are once again at daggers drawn and sounding highly menacing to…Disaster or Repair? Trump heads to Saudi for Islam Address
by Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Trump left Friday afternoon for Saudi Arabia, where he will be feted with steak and ketchup by the Saudi monarchy and will deliver…Revival of Iraqi Communism among Youth alarms Shiite Militias
Mustafa Habib | (Niqash.org) | - - Last week’s kidnapping of seven activists in Baghdad could be another sign of increasing tensions between secular parties in Iraq and the country’s ruling religious…The Iranian Election: It’s the Economy, Stupid!
By Stella Morgana | The Conversation | - - On May 19, Iranians will choose their next president and determine what direction the country will take. The race has become tighter now…Erdogan & Trump: Can the Confict over Syria be Resolved?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Two really big egos met Tuesday at the White House, as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan consulted with Donald Trump. The two countries are…The Refugee Crisis and the Renewal of Our Humanity
By Gregory Alonso Pirio | (Informed Comment) | - - The colossal refugee crisis confronting humankind today has created an unprecedented opportunity to awaken our sense of common humanity and compassion. No…Trump and Israel/ Palestine: Art of the Deal or End of 2-States?
By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | - - President Trump recently told the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, that “I’ve always heard that perhaps the toughest deal to make…Mosul on My Mind: What It Really Means to Be on a Flattening Planet
By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - The closest I ever got to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was 1,720.7 miles away -- or so the Internet assures me. Although…