By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Over the years the smug Western pundits have had a good deal of fun at the expense of unhinged Middle Eastern rulers. There was Daffy Gaddafi in Libya, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran. One headline in the 1990s spoke of ‘the fruitcake ravings […]
Kissinger pushes Iranophobia, fear of ‘radical empire’ as ISIL declines
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Henry Kissinger at 94 is still misinforming Washington about Iran. Now he is warning of an “Iranian radical empire” stretching from Tehran to Beirut if Iran is allowed to “fill the vacuum” as ISIL is rolled up– as Jack Moore at Newsweek points out.. Kissinger seems […]
“Fire & Fury” or “Shock and Awe”: it is always the start of a Quagmire
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – If we weren’t talking about two nuclear-armed states with unhinged leaders, the war of words between the US and North Korea would be hilarious. Trump’s threat Tuesday that “”North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire […]
Scientists Leak Study on Global Heating Impact b4 Trump can Suppress it
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – A draft report on the current impact of global heating on the United States, produced by 13 Federal agencies, has been leaked to the New York Times. The scientists who leaked it are afraid that the anti-science Trump administration will suppress the findings to help its […]
Can a General ‘Unchaos’ the White House? – Juan Cole Interview
Warren Olney | KCRW. | (To the Point Radio Show) | – – Can a general ‘unchaos’ the White House? “With the President away, his White House Staff will play — unless former General John Kelly can establish rules of order in his new role as chief of a group he himself has called “dysfunctional.” […]
Gov.’s branding Mosque bombing ‘terrorism’ astonishes US Press
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – This Saturday, a Bloomington, Minnesota mosque was attacked with an improvised explosive device, which destroyed an office with fire and blew out windows but luckily no one was injured. Some members of the congregation were shaken up pretty badly. On Sunday, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton visited […]
As Trump leaves Paris Accord, Wind jobs are fastest growing in US next Decade
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – CBS News reports that jobs in the wind energy field will grow 108 percent in the next 7 years. Working on wind turbines, in short, is the fastest-growing job sector in the United States now and in the foreseeable future. One of the characteristics of wind […]
UN Report: Muslim Youth going to fight in Syria mostly not Motivated by Islam
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Lizzie Dearden at The Independent reviews a new report by the United Nations Office of counter-terrorism report. Some 25,000 young men are said to have made their way from Europe to fight the regime in Syria, and as the war winds down, many will return. Understanding […]
Trump’s Worst Nightmare: Mueller’s Grand Jury Subpoenas Russia Documents
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller has empaneled a grand jury in the investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia. The Grand Jury in turn has already issued a subpoena with regard to the meeting of Don Trump Jr. and other senior Trump advisors June 9 of 2016 with […]