US Foreign Policy

By Hani Habeeb | – ( Middle East Monitor) – While the American Special Representative to Iran, Robert Malley, surprised observers of the nuclear file by saying that the point of no return for this file is approaching, Israel is escalating its tone, especially in the context of its dispute with the US over this […]

Featured

To Avoid another War Biden must get US Troops, caught in Israel-Iran Crossfire, out of Syria

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Eric Schmitt and Ronen Bergman at the New York Times report that a drone strike on a US base in eastern Syria last month has been assessed by the Pentagon as retaliation for Israeli airstrikes on Iranian bases in Syria. US troops abandoned the base before the strike, based on […]

China

Ours won’t be the new American Century or the Chinese Century but that of Catastrophic Climate Change

Alfred W. McCoy

( Tomdispatch.com) – When the leaders of more than 100 nations gathered in Glasgow for the U.N. climate conference last week, there was much discussion about the disastrous effect of climate change on the global environment. There was, however, little awareness of its likely political impact on the current world order that made such an […]

Australasia

North America needs to invest in Green Energy in Indo-Pacific or Risk losing key Industry to China

The Conversation

By Jonas Goldman | – The Indo-Pacific region, which includes 24 nations and stretches from Australia to Japan and from India to the U.S. west coast, is home to both the largest concentration of humanity and the greatest source of global emissions. In 2020, the region produced 16.75 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the […]

Democracy

In the Middle East, the US was Never about Democracy Promotion

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – How much of the blame should U.S. policy take for the decline of democracy in the twenty-first century, with the reversions to dictatorship and the rise of illiberalism in older democracies? In a fine article at the New York Times, Max Fisher discusses how an NYT team mined data at […]

China

As Biden and Xi Zoom, the Iran issue Looms

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden and his counterpart Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke for half an hour on Monday by video, as Biden attempted to establish “guard rails” in the relationship of the two countries so that tensions do not spiral out of control. Biden is a status quo president, attempting to […]

Afghanistan

How the US lost in Afghanistan (Juan Cole Interview with Michigan Online Teach-out)

Juan Cole

Interview by the University of Michigan Online‘s Jenni Patterson | – “Following the removal of American troops from Afghanistan, there has been a surge of Afghans trying to escape amid the country’s turmoil. Learn more about the current crisis in Afghanistan and how to support displaced people in your own community with the “Afghan Refugees […]

China

After 30 Secret Meetings, US and China announce Joint initiative to Combat Global Heating in Diplomatic Thaw

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Owen Churchill at the South China Morning Post reports that the United States and China at the UN Climate Conference COP26 have agreed on a statement of principles aimed at limiting extra global heating to 2.7 degrees F. (1.5C) above the late 18th century norms before humanity began dumping billions […]

Death Penalty

Letter to President Biden on Failures of Administration’s Human Rights Policy Toward the Middle East

Human Rights Watch

By Kenneth Roth | Executive Director | – President Joseph R. Biden 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 RE: US Policy Toward the Middle East Dear President Biden, When you were elected last year, we urged your incoming administration to strive to be a leader in human rights and made a series of recommendations […]