US Foreign Policy

Channel 4 News Channel 4 News: “What does Iran make of Islamic State?” Meanwhile, although some Iranian sources deny it, the BBC’s sources say that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader has “authorised his top commander to co-ordinate military operations with the US, Iraqi and Kurdish forces.” Khamenei seems to be preparing the Iranian people […]

Egypt

5 Ironies of US Reaction to Egypt/UAE Bombing of Libya

Juan Cole

The diplomatic angst issuing from Washington around the United Arab Emirates and Egypt bombing of weapons depots belonging to the Qatar-backed fundamentalist militia of Misrata holds many delicious ironies: 1. According to the BBC, “the US, France, Germany, Italy and the UK issued a joint statement denouncing “outside interference” in Libya.” Seriously, guys? Except for […]

al-Qaeda

Has the War on Terror Failed?

contributors

AJ+ “Has the West’s global “War on Terror” failed? Thirteen years of U.S. counter-terrorism policies have opened up a Pandora’s box of questions – both political and ideological.” Aj+ Has the War on Terror Failed?

Barack Obama

Obama’s budding Cambodia Policy in Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Former British ambassador to the United States Sir Christoher Meyer is advocating that the US and Western Europe stop advocating the overthrow of the Baath regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and instead coordinate with it to move against the so-called “Islamic State,” which controls some predominantly Sunni Muslim desert towns on […]

Afghanistan

Families of Afghan Civilians Killed by US/NATO Cannot get Justice

contributors

By Bruce Pannier via RFE/RL Amnesty International has released a report documenting the inability of the families of Afghan civilians killed in attacks by U.S. and other foreign forces to obtain justice. The report, titled “Left In The Dark,” calls on the Afghan government to ensure that accountability for unlawful civilian killings is guaranteed in […]

Iraq

Iraq Intervention? More like Ceaseless Escalation

contributors

By Elliott Colla, author of Baghdad Central While visiting Baghdad last year, I was struck by what Iraqis said every time I tried to apologize for the 2003 invasion: “Don’t apologize for that. We needed an invasion to get rid of Saddam Hussein.” And then they would add, “But you do need to apologize for […]

Apartheid

Need for Tough Love: Defending the Gaza Assault Hurts Israeli, American Interests

contributors

By Gregory Harms Almost two-thirds of Americans feel Israel’s operations in Gaza were justified. When given sufficient information, and when thinking outside ideological parameters, Americans commonly draw reasonable conclusions and are in agreement by a two-thirds majority. In the case of the Gaza-Israel conflict, a knowledge deficit and ideology are to explain why the population […]

Apartheid

Blown Chances in Gaza Israel and the U.S. Miss Many Chances to Avoid War

contributors

By Sandy Tolan via Tomdispatch.com Alongside the toll of death and broken lives, perhaps the saddest reality of the latest Gaza war, like the Gaza wars before it, is how easy it would have been to avoid. For the last eight years, Israel and the U.S. had repeated opportunities to opt for a diplomatic solution […]

Featured

Iraq: Al-Abadi garners Iranian, US, Saudi Support: But can He Unite Iraq?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Middle Eastern regional powers joined the US in welcoming the appointment of Haydar al-Abadi as Iraq’s next Prime Minister, creating a dorm full of strange bedfellows. The chairman of Iran’s national security council, Ali Shamkhani, congratulated al-Abadi and said that Iran approved of the legal process whereby President Fuad Masoum appointed the […]