By Bruce Pannier | ( RFE/RL) The security problems in northwest Afghanistan continue despite several trips to the region by Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former general who comes from the region. Dostum has led at last four offensives against militants there since the summer of 2015, but when he leaves the militants […]
Archives for June 2016
Abuses of Fallujah Sunnis Raise Question: Does Iraq Gov’t Control of Shiite Militias
Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – The announced investigation into allegations of abuse of civilians around Fallujah by Iraqi government forces is a test for the government’s ability to hold abusive forces accountable. Judicial officials should conduct this investigation transparently and impartially, assess command responsibility, and ensure protection for victims and witnesses. Ahead […]
Is Tel Aviv Mayor Right that Israel is unique in Occupation & denying Civil Rights?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Ron Huldai, the mayor of Tel Aviv, reacted with enormous sadness to Thursday’s terrorist attack on the Sarona Market restaurant district in Tel Aviv, which left 4 dead, committed by a teenagers from the Occupied Palestinian West Bank. But he then went on to put the […]
‘Security Moms’: A Constituency for Hillary Clinton’s Hawkish Foreign Policy?
by Dinesh Sharma | (The Conversation) | – – Both conservatives and progressives have argued Hillary Rodham Clinton is more “hawkish” than President Obama. Robert Gates, the secretary of defense under both Presidents Bush and Obama, worked with her in the White House and called her “a tough lady.” Bruce Riedel, a South Asia expert […]
Under Israeli Blockade and Running out of Water, Gaza turns to Solar
AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “People are struggling to find clean drinking water in Gaza, but one resident has a solution. Fayez al-Hindi has built a solar power system to purify water. According to municipalities, it’s working.” AJ+: ” In Gaza, One Man Wields Solar Power To Purify Water”
Muhammad Ali Understood the Racist Roots of War and Militarism: And he called them out fearlessly.
By Phyllis Bennis | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – With all the discussion and debate these days about intersectionality and the need for progressives to link our movements against racism and against war, the name of Muhammad Ali belongs right up in our pantheon with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Harry Belafonte, Joan […]
America’s First Communal Muslim Funeral: Muhammad Ali
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The funeral of Muhammad Ali, attended by a throng of 20,000, was the first national funeral for a national hero of the United States that was also a Muslim ceremony or janazah. Muhammad Ali crafted it as a interfaith event, but obviously Islam was central. The […]
Suicide Bombers + Secret Tunnels: ISIL Tactics On Fallujah’s Front lines
Mustafa Habib | | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – The battle for Fallujah will be long and hard. The Islamic State has prepared for a siege, is relying on foreign fighters and is spreading lies to persuade locals to fight. NIQASH spoke to those on the front line. In the Nuaimiya area, south of […]
Besieged Syrian Town Gets First Food Aid Since 2012
TeleSur | – – “We call for unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all people in need,” said a U.N. spokesperson. An international aid convoy reached Daraya—a Syrian town under siege by government forces—in the middle of the night, delivering food supplies for the first time since 2012, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday. Trucks […]