By Fawaz A. Gerges | ( Project Syndicate ) | – – LONDON – Donald Trump’s recent claim that his opponent in the US presidential race, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and President Barack Obama founded the Islamic State is vicious nonsense. But it is also an ironic charge for Trump to make: if […]
Archives for September 2016
Feds: We can read all your email, and you’ll never know
By Clark D. Cunningham | (The Conversation) | – – Fear of hackers reading private emails in cloud-based systems like Microsoft Outlook, Gmail or Yahoo has recently sent regular people and public officials scrambling to delete entire accounts full of messages dating back years. What we don’t expect is our own government to hack our […]
Number of US Troops in Iraq Heading toward 6,000
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US plans to send another 500 troops to Iraq to help with the massive Mosul campaign, which will involve the Iraqi army and its allies, the Kurdistan paramilitary Peshmerga, hard line Shiite militias, and Sunni Arab tribal levies. US troops will not engage in war-fighting […]
Questioning US Arms Sales, impunity for Saudi Arabia
By Carlyn Meyer | (Informed Comment) | – – The bi-partisan failure to review the nature and benefit of the US-Saudi relationship has been a striking feature of US foreign policy for decades. Despite serious questions about the link between the intolerant Wahhabi form of Islam promoted by the kingdom and the rise of a […]
Israel releases Jerusalem journalist after she served 6-months for Facebook post
By Ma’an News Agency | – – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities released Palestinian journalist Samah Dweik on Monday, after she served nearly six months in prison over charges of “incitement.” Family members and friends gathered awaited Dweik, 25, outside the gates of HaSharon prison where she was held, before taking her to her home […]
Colonial Slow Genocide: Palestinian Leader Abbas asks Britain for “Balfour” Apology
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Mahmoud Abbas, president of Palestine, is asking Britain for an apology for its having in 1917 issued the infamous “Balfour Declaration.” He won’t get one. The difference between the North Atlantic countries and the rest of the world is that the former are still committed to […]
UN Calls Out Saudi Arabia for Killing Yemeni Women and Children
By TeleSur | – – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon demanded all parties fighting in Yemen “fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.” In a rare move, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called out Saudi Arabia on Thursday for airstrikes in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians, including women and children. On Wednesday the U.S.- and […]
Iraq’s Growth Industry: Free-Lance Civilian Bomb Disposal
By Kamal al-Ayash | Ramadi | ( Niqash.org) | – – Locals are struggling to get rid of the explosive booby-traps the Islamic State left as they withdrew from Ramadi. For one group of daring locals, defusing the bombs has become a lucrative new job opportunity. In the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, it is […]
America’s New Reality: Mad Bombers, Merchants of Death, & Lawmaking Harlots
By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Recently, sorting through a pile of old children’s books, I came across a volume, That Makes Me Mad!, which brought back memories. Written by Steve Kroll, a long-dead friend, it focused on the eternally frustrating everyday adventures of Nina, a little girl whose life regularly […]