By Russ Wellen | ( Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – “Saudi Arabia’s perceived need to keep Iran at bay is distracting it from the danger that the Islamic State poses to its regime. Walking with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is intent on […]
Archives for June 2015
ISIL and the Middle East Generational Shift (with Juan Cole)
Elliot Hill | (The LipTV Video) | – – “With ISIS rampaging through Syria and Iraq, and a generational shift in politics and religion happening across the Middle East, we dissect some of the political changes happening in the region with author Juan Cole. The dual advance of secularism and violent fundamentalism, islamophobia in the […]
How each State in the Union can have 100% Green Energy by 2050: The Stanford Plan
By Bjorn Carey | ( Stanford News Service) | – –
Modest Increase in Iraq Training Mission shows Obama still Uninterested & Maybe he’s Right
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – The Obama administration got itself some headlines on Wednesday morning by pledging to send a few hundred more military trainers to Iraq and to create a new base in al-Anbar Province. But there is less to this announcement than meets the eye. The US has some 3000 […]
It isn’t Israel that is being “delegitimized” but the Occupation of Palestine
By: John V. Whitbeck | (Ma’an News Agency) | – – June 5 marked the 48th anniversary of the “preemptive” attack on Egypt with which Israel launched the fateful “Six-Day War” that permitted the Zionist movement to complete its conquest of historical Palestine. As the “State of Palestine” (the legal designation for the 22 percent […]
Donald Rumsfeld Blames Bush For Iraq Democracy Fail
Mark Sovel & Elliot Hill | (The Lip TV – Video) | – – “Donald Rumsfeld said George W. Bush was wrong about Iraq in a recent interview with British newspaper The Times where the former Secretary of Defense called the Bush administration’s efforts to push democracy on Iraq “unrealistic”. In the interview, Rumsfeld, a […]
Jon Stewart on Iran, Israel and Directing Rosewater: “It Turns out the Middle East is Somewhat of a Hotbed”
By Alexander Bisley | (Lumiere Reader) | – – N.B. Rosewater is now streaming at Amazon Instant Video and will be available on Netflix beginning June 10 It’s slightly surreal interviewing Jon Stewart, The Daily Show interviewer. His debut film Rosewater tells the story of Maziar Bahari (played by Gael García Bernal), imprisoned in solitary […]
Egypt: Year of Abuses Under al-Sisi — President Gets Western Support While Erasing Human Rights Gains
Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt has presided over the flagrant abuse of human rights since taking office a year ago pledging to restore stability. Violence by armed groups and the government has escalated. The United States and European governments should stop overlooking Egyptian government abuses, including […]
Implications for ICC? SCOTUS Jerusalem Decision shows Limits of Israel Lobbies
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – It has been the position of the US presidents for decades that the status of Jerusalem in international law is unsettled. That is why the US embassy is in Tel Aviv, and why US passports showing the place of birth as Jerusalem just list the name […]