By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As the death toll in this weekend’s horrific terrorist attack on a Sufi mosque near El Arish in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula rose to at least 305, the patriarch of the Coptic Church, Tawadros II, affirmed the solidarity of Egypt’s some 8 million Christians with the Muslim […]
Informed Comment Fundraiser: Support Independent Journalism!
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Exciting news, folks: Informed Comment is in the midst of a major redesign and aims at becoming a magazine. The redesign is not cheap, and neither will be our plans to attract more writers for the site. And, we undertake this endeavor at a time when […]
‘Trump Talks Too Much’: Iran Shrugs Off Oil Boycott Threat
TeleSur | – – An Iranian official said Trump sees himself as the chief of a global village: “This comes as he is just the president of the U.S., and a hated one.” Iran has denounced a potential boycott of the country’ss crude oil recently floated by U.S. President Donald Trump, slamming the statements as […]
Will Trump manage to stab both Syrian Kurds and Turkey in the Back at same time?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Trump is alleged to have promised Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that he will cease arming the YPG Kurds in Syria. This news comes just around the time there is a flurry of articles about how the Trump administration wants to stay long term in eastern Syria, […]
Extremists Kill 235 at Mosque in Egypt’s Sinai
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – A massive explosion went off outside a mosque in the small town (pop. 2500) of Rawdah 12 miles west of El Arish on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula yesterday, and then the mosque congregation was targeted by gunmen, killing at least 235 and wounding […]
The Falsehood of Trump’s ‘Precision Strikes’ and ‘Clean Wars’
By Paul Rogers | ( OpenDemocracy.net) | – – Trump’s worldview promises low-cost military success. The blasting apart of civilian lives in Iraq says otherwise. Many previous columns in this series focus on the transition in the western way of war since 9/11 from tens of thousands of “boots on the ground” to “remote warfare”. […]
As Flynn cuts off WH, top 4 Alleged Crimes he could sink Trump with
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Ret. 3-star general Michael Flynn, under investigation by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, has ceased sharing information on his case with the Trump white house. Analysts think that this move may be a sign that Flynn is turning state’s evidence and may provide information damning to Trump. […]
Is Palestinian Pres. Abbas refusing to take Jared Kushner’s Phone Calls?
Middle East Monitor | – – Haaretz reported on Thursday 23 November, 2017, that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refused Wednesday to answer a phone call from Jared Kushner, adviser to US President Donald Trump who is responsible for mediating an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Instead of answering Kushner’s call, Abbas forwarded it to the representative of […]
“Give me Liberty & Give Me Liquor” Anbar, Iraq after ISIL
Kamal al-Ayash. | Anbar | (Niqash.org) | – – Even before the extremists were in control in Anbar, selling alcohol was banned. During extremist control, selling liquor was punishable by death. But now liquor stores have become a sign of freedom. Sign of hope? Beer on sale at a bar in Iraqi Kurdistan. These days […]
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