US Foreign Policy

By Afrah Nasser | – Yemen Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division | – ( Human Rights Watch) – United States President Joe Biden called in early February for “ending all American support for offensive operations in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” At the time, I, like many human rights advocates who have been […]

Afghanistan

US spent $2.261 Trillion on Afghanistan War, in which ~240,000 Have Died; We could have Greened Half the Grid Instead

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Costs of War Project at Brown University has just brought out a new report on Afghanistan. The September 11, 2001 attacks were launched from Khost and Qandahar in Afghanistan by al-Qaeda, though it is not clear that this organization of Arab expatriates informed their Taliban hosts of what they […]

Human Rights

The Saudi Lobby is Coming for You, Small Town America

Juan Cole

By Ben Freeman, Brian Steiner and Leila Riazi | – ( Tomdispatch.com) – Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., was on the hot seat. In early March 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world, oil prices collapsed and a price war broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia, leaving […]

Afghanistan

As the US plans its Afghan troop withdrawal, what was it all for?

The Conversation

By Jared Mondschein | – Unlike most US presidents, Joe Biden did not come to the White House with many fixed ideological positions. He did, however, come with fixed values. Chief among them is understanding how US policies impact working American families. In his nearly half century of experience in and around Washington, Biden was […]

al-Qaeda

What will be the Mideast Crises facing Biden in the Coming Year? US Intelligence Threat Assessment

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community is out. It has a Middle East section and a report on Afghanistan in the South Asia section. Although the threat assessment aims at highlighting potential threats to the US and US interests, I am struck by how little their analysis […]

Afghanistan

As Biden Announces US will Leave Afghanistan, what Forces will Shape its Future?

The Conversation

By Catesby Holmes | – The United States will bring home its over 3,000 remaining soldiers in Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, delaying its planned withdrawal for five months in an effort to bolster faltering peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgent group. The new troop withdrawal date is symbolic, marking the 20th […]

Afghanistan

No, Biden ending the Afghanistan War isn’t a Disaster: The disaster was Dropping 7,400 Bombs on the Country Annually

Juan Cole

President Biden announced Tuesday that he will completely withdraw US troops from Afghanistan around September 1. This move will bring to an end America’s longest war, which still costs $50 billion a year. Imagine what that money could do for the US if it is invested in green energy and infrastructure. Worse, a lot of […]

Arms Sales

Empire of Killing Machines: America’s Arsenal for Sale

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com) – By the time you read this piece, it will already be out of date. The reason’s simple enough. No matter what mayhem I describe, with so much all-American weaponry in this world of ours, there’s no way to keep up. Often, despite the headlines that go with mass killings here, there’s almost […]

Featured

Iraq Announces end of US Combat Mission in Iraq, further reduction in 2,500 Troops now There

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Iraqi News Agency reports that Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s National Security Adviser, said on Wednesday that his country had reached an agreement with Washington specifying that there would be no foreign military bases in Iraq. During a press conference alongside foreign minister Fuad Hussein, al-Araji added that the Biden administration […]