By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Saudi airstrikes targeting a judiciary building in al-Hudayda, a port on the western coast of Yemen under Houthi control, have killed some 43 people and wounded dozens of others, most of them prisoners. The strike on the judiciary building, which had a prison attached, could have […]
Humanitarian Crisis In Mosul as Half of Displaced are Children
By Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | – – . . . “There’s no question that, in the worst case, Mosul will represent the single largest, most complex humanitarian crisis in the world in 2016,” United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande said on October 18, hours after an Iraqi-led coalition launched its […]
10 Things Weiner did Worse than Storing H. Clinton Emails on his computer
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – WaPo is reporting that it was the FBI investigation of Anthony Weiner that caused new emails between Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin to come to light, which apparently might include forwarded State Department memos or correspondence related to State. Nothing produces upchuck in the throat like […]
Iraq: Barzani pledges Kurdish forces won’t Enter Mosul
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Masoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (a super-province of Iraq) said Thursday that the KRG paramilitary, the Peshmerga, will not enter Mosul. He also remarked that last week’s Daesh attack on Kirkuk was an attempt to divert attention from the terrorist organization’s failures […]
Starstruck & Party-Fanatic: The Moral Paradox of Trump Support
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald J. Trump’s poll numbers in California have cratered down to 28%. If he actually does that poorly in the election, he will set a record for poor performance of a presidential candidate in California. Ever. What is difficult to explain is why he isn’t doing […]
Trump says Clinton will Start WW III with Russia, but Moscow Disagrees
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald Trump alleged on Tuesday that if elected, Hillary Clinton would start World War III with Russia over Syria. He wondered how Clinton would be able to negotiate with Putin, whom she has demonized, and said that her plan for a no-fly zone over Syria would […]
Why Trump is (really) wrong to bet against US Military-backed Mosul Campaign
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As Josh Rogin pointed out, Donald Trump’s pronouncement that the Mosul campaign is bound to fail is an affront to the Iraqi and US troops risking their lives against Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). It is also just plain wrong, and the terms of his pronouncement show once […]
Iraqi Kurdistan forces take Bashiqa on road to Mosul
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Sunday, AFP reports in Arabic, Iraqi forces continued their advance on Mosul despite the car bombs and sniping tactics of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). They moreover were able to expel a whole group of Daesh fighters. Sunday morning, the Peshmerga, the paramilitary of the Kurdistan Regional […]
China’s Wind Co. Profits, share price soar by 60%: 2 Turbines an Hour being Installed
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The South China Post reports some incredible figures about the profitability China’s wind energy companies. A new study by the Bank of China International (BOCI) is foreseeing profits of 25 to 64 percent for the rest of 2016. The reason for this optimism? The government is […]