By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) on Sunday attacked an isolated outpost of the Syrian Arab Army in a few neighborhoods in the north of the city of Deir al-Zor, which are surrounded by Daesh from every side. The SAA also still controls a military airfield just north of […]
Triumph of Diplomacy: Iran, on cusp of Sanctions relief, releases 5 Iranian-American Detainees
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iranian news agencies announced Saturday that the government had released four dual nationals (Iranian-Americans with both passports). A fifth release was later reported. The release is another major diplomatic victory for President Obama and Sec. of State John Kerry, and is good news indeed for the […]
Americans more likely to get hit by Lightning than Terrorism, but 51% Fear It
By Peter Certo | (Foreign Policy In Focus) | – – One in 3.5 million: That’s your annual risk of dying from a terrorist attack in the United States, at least according to Cato analyst John Mueller. Rounded generously, that comes out to roughly 3 one-hundred thousandths of a percentage point, or 0.00003 percent. And […]
Noam Chomsky slams Turkish Pres. Erdogan for Arresting Academics, supporting Extremism
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Matthew Weaver of the Guardian reports retired MIT linguist Noam Chomsky’s reply to a personal attack by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan criticized Chomsky and other international scholars who signed a petition against the Turkish government’s current vendetta against Kurdish-Turkish citizens in the country’s southeast. Erdogan […]
War Talk, Jingoism and White Supremacy at GOP Debate
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The GOP presidential debate last night veered even further right on international issues, given the absence of Ron Paul, who represents the Libertarian wing of the party that is less interested in foreign wars. Ted Cruz started off with a promise of war on Iran over […]
How I Explained to My Impressionable Student That Islam Is Not Monolithic
Asma Afsaruddin | (Huffington Post) | – – On Sept. 29, 2015, President Obama addressed the United Nations summit on violent extremism. He stated that part of the international effort to stamp out terrorism “must be a continued rejection by Muslims of those who distort Islam to preach intolerance and promote violence, and it must […]
Top 6 Wind Energy stories Today: Cost down 60% since 2009
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – 1. This press release from Windpower Engineering notes that in 2015: “The German electricity system has reached a new milestone, generating 85.4 billion kWh of wind power in 2015, the highest amount ever recorded and 66% more than 2014. Nationwide, wind energy accounted for 13.3% of […]
German lawmakers rush to respond to Cologne attacks as Vigilante Attacks Break Out
by Dario Sarmadi (trans. by Samuel Morgan) | ( EurActiv.de) | – – After the attacks carried out on women in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, the German government wants to act quickly and tighten the asylum law. Meanwhile, verbal and physical violence against migrants has escalated. EurActiv Germany reports. The events that unfolded in […]
Obama: Islamophobia harms US Interests; Daesh/ISIL a dangerous Fringe
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama’s last State of the Union address this year was largely lacking in specifics and replete with high ideals and ambitious goals like curing cancer. But he did address some issues in everyday politics. One of the more powerful moments came when he implicitly attacked […]
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