By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian air strikes in Syria are coming closer and closer to the Turkish border in Latakia in the northwest, and there are rumors that Russia is looking at establishing an airbase at Qamishli in the largely Kurdish northeast of Syria. Turkey risks having Russia as a […]
Netanyahu demands more billions from US after Iran Deal, insults US Envoy, Steals more Land
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – At the Davos World Economic Forum, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that the deal between the UN Security Council and Iran limiting its enrichment program to purely civilian uses had made Israel less secure, and that it must therefore be granted tens of billions of […]
No, Gov. Snyder, Flint’s water wasn’t poisoned by “Government”: It was by your Appointee
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Perhaps it is inevitable but it is a shame that some people are gaming out how to profit politically from the lead poisoning of the children of Flint, Michigan (pop. 99,000). In the state capital, the Establishment is trying to blame the crisis on “government” or […]
Palin for Trump: ‘Political Correctness’ (anti-racism) is a Suicide Bomb Vest
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The term “political correctness” has a long and varying history, but what do Donald Trump and Sarah Palin mean when they attack it? They are using it to mean anti-racism. A day after Martin Luther King Day, Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump for president in Ames, […]
Israeli PM Netanyahu Still trying to derail Iran Nuclear Deal
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – BBC Monitoring reports that over the weekend, even as the great Powers were certifying that Iran was in compliance with the UNSC deal permitting only civilian enrichment of uranium, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who had attempted to derail the negotiations, continued to try to derail […]
Daesh/ ISIL carries off 400 Women & Children from Deir al-Zor to a fate worse than Death
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 […]
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