By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The cessation of hostilities in Syria never included Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) or al-Qaeda (the Nusra Front or Support Front), but it did include some of the de facto allies of al-Qaeda. The Syrian Arab Army and its Shiite militia allies, with Russian air support, have taken […]
If ISIL falls before November, how will it affect the US Election?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – GOP frontrunner Donald Trump openly attributes his success at the polls to the terrorist attacks on Paris last fall, in which Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) was involved. Ever since Mosul fell to the organization (originally al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia) in June of 2014, it has provoked great concern […]
Is Hillary Clinton responsible for rise of ISIL, as Bernie’s Campaign Manager Alleged?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, alleged on Thursday that Hillary Clinton’s policies are responsible for the ‘rise and expansion of ISIS throughout the Middle East.’ His full statement on CNN: “I think if you look at her record and campaign, her campaign is funded by […]
Are Sanders’ Criticisms of Israeli Occupation Policies unprecedented in a Presidential Campaign?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Bernie Sanders is being attacked for comments on the Middle East in his interview with the editorial board of The New York Daily News, but all he did was restate current US government policy. What is remarkable is that Sanders dared just, like, criticize Israeli policy […]
Syria: Al-Assad Family’s Massive Stolen Wealth in Panama Papers helps explain Revolution
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The revelation in the leaked Panama Papers that Mossack Fonseca and Swiss bank HSBC serviced the companies of corrupt Syrian billionaire Rami Makhlouf (first cousin of dictator Bashar al-Assad) long after the US imposed sanctions on him is a reminder of why Syrians revolted against the […]
One Reason the GOP Bigwigs hate Trump: He told the truth about Bush WMD Lies
By Brian Glyn Williams | (Informed Comment) | – – Recently Donald Trump broke with Republican convention and roiled the party base by boldly stating “You call it whatever you want. I want to tell you. They [the Bush administration] lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction [in Iraq]; there were none. And […]
What’s at Stake for Israel in al-Sharif Killing: Japanese Officers were Executed for Killing POWs
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Israeli military and security forces have a problem. They are fairly obviously being ordered to commit summary executions of prisoners. The problem: This behavior is one of the more heinous of war crimes as defined in international law. At the very least it is a […]
The Panama Papers and Middle East Leaders’ Secret Bank Accounts
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – An anonymous source has handed over to a German newspaper massive amounts of data from the Panama-based, German-run law firm Mossack Fonseca. The firm specialized in providing clients with offshore accounts, which are typically used to avoid taxes or hide ill-gotten gains. Given the enormous problem […]
Syrian Ceasefire in Tatters as al-Qaeda & allies attack in South Aleppo
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The London pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reports that the rebel opposition allied with al-Qaeda broke the ceasefire Saturday morning, taking several villages and towns in the southern hinterlands of Aleppo. The attack was launched with suicide car-bombers who detonated their payload, targeting Syrian Arab Army troops and […]
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