By Ali Murat Yel | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey is facing a possible referendum in April regarding a constitutional amendment that would change the current system from a parliamentary to a presidential one. Despite heated debates in the public arena, in which the left has alleged that a presidential system will move Turkey […]
Archives for February 2017
The Catch-22 of Trump’s Muslim Ban: First, Bomb them, then Demand Vetting
By M. Safa Saracoglu | (Informed Comment) | – – On January 30, 2017, the President issued an executive order suspending entry of people from seven countries for 90 days. This ban proclaimed that people coming from these nations “would be detrimental to the interests of the US.” The suspension was designed to “temporarily reduce […]
Spicer: Trump can Criticize Iraq War but no one can Slam Trump’s Yemen Raid
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – – One-man fake news channel Sean Spicer, Trump’s spokesman, said Wednesday that anyone who criticized the botched raid on Yakla in Yemen that killed innocent children and other noncombatants and left a Navy Seal dead “owes an apology” to the deceased sailor. This assertion is perhaps the most […]
We want our Muslim Physicians Back! How America reclaimed a victim of Injustice
By Charles Ornstein | (ProPublica) | – – In a clandestine mission that had the makings of a hostage rescue, the Cleveland Clinic and its lawyers arranged for medical resident Suha Abushamma to fly back to the United States yesterday, more than a week after she was forced to leave because of President Donald Trump’s […]
Pope Francis Says Building a Wall ‘Not a Christian Gesture’
TeleSur | – – “A Christian can never say ‘I’ll make you pay for that.’ Never! That is not a Christian gesture,” said Pope Francis. Pope Francis said Wednesday that society should not create “walls but bridges” to encourage good relations among people, adding it was wrong to be spiteful and say “I’ll make you […]
Rights group warns Israel could could launch ‘wide-scale’ military offensive in Gaza
Ma’an News Agency | – – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — In the wake of multiple airstrikes launched by the Israeli army inside the Gaza Strip on Monday, the Gaza-based al-Mezan Center for Human Rights expressed concern that Israel could be leading up to a wide-scale military offensive. Meanwhile on Wednesday, four Israeli bulldozers raided the […]
Syrian refugees ‘detrimental’ to Americans? The numbers tell a different story
By Jeffrey H. Cohen | (The Conversation) | – – President Donald Trump wants to close the door on Syrian refugees, barring them indefinitely from settling in the U.S. In an executive order signed on Jan. 27, the president wrote: “I hereby proclaim that the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to […]
Yemen withdraws blanket approval for US action after Trump’s botched Raid
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The the Arab press, reports that that government has withdrawn blanket permission from the Trump administration to conduct raids and drone strikes on al-Qaeda and other targets. It is sourcing one of the two Yemeni governments (that of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi). Mansour Hadi’s diplomat expressed to […]
Could Trump stumble into a Mideast War? It has happened before to Headstrong Presidents
By Guy Laron | (Informed Comment) | – – An American President enters office after his progressive predecessor courted a major Middle Eastern country. The new president is not satisfied with what he perceives as a wishy-washy approach to foreign policy. He throws the emphasis on humanitarian aid out of the window. A hard-nosed businessman […]