Curated by Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – BBC Monitoring translates from Pushtu a report from the ‘Afghan Islamic Press’ from Kabul on 21 Dec., which says that “A suicide attack has been carried out on the Afghan and foreign forces in Bagram District of Parwan Province, in which . . . foreign […]
Clinton: Trump chief recruiter for ISIL; Sanders: Take out Daesh First, Assad Later
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The second Saturday-night Democratic debate had a lot of discussion on foreign policy. It is a shame that the Democratic National Convention put it on a Saturday, when its audience was much lower. Many Bernie Sanders supporters believe that the DNC supports Sec. Hillary Clinton and […]
41% of Trump Supporters want to bomb Aladdin and Jasmine
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Public Policy Polling asked US voters if they favored bombing “Agraba.” Some 30% of Republicans said “Yes!” Obviously, this is a a little bit of a trick, since voters being asked such a question assume it is a real policy issue. But wouldn’t you want to […]
Rural Fury over Arabic Script in World Cultures Module forces closing of Augusta, Va. Schools
AJ+ | (Video news report) | – – “VA’s Augusta County School District shut down over security concerns posed by parents who were angry about an Arabic calligraphy lesson. Officials didn’t mention a specific threat, but said that the “tone and content” of messages pouring in from the community and beyond was cause for extra […]
Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Wheaton College suspended a tenured professor of Political Science for quoting Pope Francis that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. So, do they? History Buff blog asked me what I thought, and this is what I told them: “Hebrew, the language of the Hebrew Bible, […]
No, GOP, you can’t win by Carpet-bombing
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – At the GOP debate Tuesday night, Ted Cruz came out swinging wildly. Blitzer: Senator Cruz, you have said you would, quote, “carpet bomb ISIS into oblivion,” testing whether, quote, “sand can glow in the dark.” Does that mean leveling the ISIS capital of Raqqa in Syria […]
If the Dead could Speak: The Real People Syrian Regime Tortured to Death
By Human Rights Watch | – – "If the Dead Could Speak" reveals some of the human stories behind the more than 28,000 photos of deaths in government custody that were smuggled out of Syria and first came to public attention in January 2014. “Just about every detainee in these photographs was someone’s beloved child, […]
Top 5 Ways Saudi Arabia really could fight Terrorism, & not by a Vague Coalition
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Over the past three days, Saudi Arabia has abruptly put together a 35-nation Muslim coalition to fight terrorism. Saudi interest in this fight is not new, and the kingdom itself has suffered from armed non-governmental groups targeting innocent non-combatants. In 2003-2006, al-Qaeda and other extremist cells […]
With Oil at $36/barrel, Have Democrats just Won the Presidency?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The price of petroleum fell Monday to levels not seen since the crash of 2008, at one point hitting $35 a barrel in New York. There is every reason to expect prices to remain low for a few years, and they could easily go lower as […]
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