By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | (Video Clip) | – – March 21 was the Persian New Year (Now Ruz), marking also the first day of spring (the vernal equinox). In Iran on that day it is a custom to set out a table top with 7 things on it, the names of which […]
After Trump Massacres in Mosul, Campaign against ISIL Halted
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Candidate Donald Trump called last year for carpet-bombing of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. It is possible that Trump has loosened the rules of engagement for the US Air Force, which is providing air support to the Iraqi Army. Looser rules could well be […]
It’s Class Warfare, Stupid. The GOP crusade against Health Care
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The struggle over health care in the United States is a form of class warfare, complicated by racism. The Republican proposal for the “American Health Care Act,” as they called it, made this warfare clear. The bill was not so much a health care act as […]
Daesh/ISIL encouraging Loner attacks to Mask its Death Spiral
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The terrorist organization known as Daesh in the Middle East and Europe but as ISIS or ISIL in the US is in a death spiral. Daesh hit its peak of territory in 2015 on taking Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s al-Anbar province. Since then, it has […]
The Russian Job: The Plot Thickens
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – An avalanche of news about the connection of key Trump political operatives to Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation rolled down ominously on the West Wing on Wednesday. The evidence for collusion between Trump figures and the Russian Federation to gain the White House for Trump […]
Top 4 Worst pieces of Climate News from WMO in Age of Trump
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations issued its annual report on the climate on Tuesday, making a full and final assessment of 2016. It was not good news. It was big news, but it wasn’t good news. Also, surprise, it wasn’t reported on most […]
It is Comey who should be Investigated
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – FBI Director James Comey confirmed Monday that his agency has since last summer been investigating the circle of Donald J. Trump for their contacts with the Russian Federation during last year’s election campaign. He also denied Trump’s allegations that former president Barack Obama ordered wiretaps on […]
Does Trump’s slashed Foreign Aid Budget give China the Advantage?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US foreign aid budget is not mainly about helping the poor. It is an instrument for buying influence in countries important to the US. The poorest countries in the world do not get much help from the US. Israel, which is a wealthy country, gets […]
Trump picks fights with US Allies: Germany, NATO, EU, Britain etc.
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – After Trump falsely accused President Obama of having him wiretapped at Trump Tower during the campaign, Sean Spicer upped the ante by charging that Obama could have used the British GCHQ electronic surveillance agency to carry out the monitoring. GCHQ does in fact outrageously invade people’s […]
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