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 […]
Europe’s big Plans for Iran Trade announce Independence from Trump’s Washington
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite the significant economic problems Iran faces, and despite the real problems in unequal income distribution, Iran’s economy is seeing bright spots that the Western press rarely admits. In the year after international sanctions were lifted on the signing of the nuclear accord, spring 2016-spring 2017, […]
UN Security Council calls for 30-Day Ceasefire in Syria’s East Ghouta
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The United Nations Security Council finally passed a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire between the Damascus government and the al-Qaeda-dominated guerrillas in Eastern Ghouta. UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminded all sides of their absolute duty in international law to safeguard the life of innocent noncombatants. […]
In anti-Trump surge, Renewables make 18% of US electricity & impel job growth
US Carbon Emissions Fall slightly
Are Kurds, Shiite Militias and the Baath Gov’t allying against Turkey’s Afrin Op?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Fundamentalist Salafi militias, some linked to al-Qaeda, and backed by Turkey, have allegedly taken three new villages in the Afrin canton away from the leftist Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Over all, the Turks and their allies claim the conquest of 71 villages in northern […]
Marco Rubio dismisses High-School Shooting Survivors as out of Mainstream
TeleSur | – – The event, hosted by CNN, offered a rare opportunity for people directly affected by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy to confront the pro-gun lobby. Survivors of last week’s mass shooting at a high-school in Parkland, Florida, confronted Republican Senator Marco Rubio and National Rifle Association (NRA) spokeswoman Dana Loesch […]
Top Ten Signs the US is the most Corrupt nation in the World (2018 Edn.)
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Revised Those ratings that castigate Afghanistan and some other poor countries as hopelessly “corrupt” always imply that the United States is not corrupt. This year’s report from Transparency International puts the US on a par with Austria, which is ridiculous. All kinds of people from politicians […]
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