By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – One of the surprises thrown up by the Gulf crisis and by the Mueller investigation is how entangled the United Arab Emirates is with Israel, and how the lobbies of the two states in Washington powerfully shape American policy. While the Israel lobbies have received scholarly […]
UN: War Crimes being Committed in Syria’s East Ghouta
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters reports that Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned Syrian (and Russian?) officials that there is credible evidence that they are committing war crimes in East Ghouta, and perhaps crimes against humanity. A war crime is a single action that violates […]
The Russians aren’t the only election hackers
By Reese Erlich | (48hills.org ) | – – The US has interfered in elections all over the world — and this Russian ‘crisis’ is a big deal about very little Welcome to the latest Washington crisis. The American people are supposed to be petrified at the threat posed by Russian spies who hack our […]
Pence’s White Nationalist exclusion of Syrian Refugees Struck Down by Court
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt has struck down former Indiana governor and present vice president Mike Pence’s attempt to stop Syrian refugees from settling in the state of Indiana. At the time he had cited terrorism concerns. Pence’s stunt, one shared in by some 16 […]
Are Iran and Saudi Arabia competing for the soul of Iraq?
By Saleem al-Wazzan | (Niqash.org) | – – Iraqis can now visit a special visa-free zone in neighbouring Iran, over the border from Basra. Some locals see the open border as a cynical economic and political move that helps Iran, but not Iraq. 22.02.2018 | Basra Politics Postcards from Abadan, Iran, in the new visa […]
Yemen War: Bernie Sanders et al. Try to get US Out
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday proposed a bipartisan resolution to take the US Pentagon back out of the Yemen War. The war was declared by Saudi Arabia and its allies in 2015 when Zaydi Shiites of the Helpers of God […]
Why is Intel Community Targeting Kushner?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – US intelligence agencies are gunning for Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and have leaked charges to the Washington Post that officials in the United Arab Emirates, Israel, China, and Mexico have privately strategized how to use him as a pawn in their power plays with Washington. Despite […]
Pentagon bloats the Federal Budget and Small-Gov’t Marks don’t Care
By William D. Hartung | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Imagine for a moment a scheme in which American taxpayers were taken to the cleaners to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars and there was barely a hint of criticism or outrage. Imagine as well that the White House and a majority of […]
Saudi High Command fired by King over Yemen Quagmire
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Saudi cabinet, chaired by King Salman, on Monday evening fired army chief of staff and several prominent officers, forcing them into retirement. The government offered no explanation for the seismic upheaval in the Saudi officer corps, but it was widely believed that the palace is […]
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