By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday evening at the Aspen Ideas Festival that “It has been more than one year since Daesh has actually launched a full scale military offensive, and that’s because our coalition is moving relentlessly on every front . . . Now, […]
ISIL Terrorism Strikes at Turkish Economy; & Someone tell Trump the Victims are Muslim
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The terrorist attack on Ataturk Airport in Istanbul Tuesday immediately drew a crass barb from Donald Trump implying that it supported his notion of banning Muslims from the US. Trump probably doesn’t know that the Turks are mostly Muslim, so he is threatening reprisals against the […]
Syrian War Overflows: Radical Salafis attack Christian Village in Lebanon
Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – A wave of suicide bombings was launched by four radical attackers struck al-Qaa, a largely Christian Lebanese village on the border with Syria on Monday, killing five locals and wounding 15. The first attacks came in the morning but that evening a second wave was launched, attacking […]
Fallujah Falls: The Slow Death of ISIL and the Future of Iraq
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As Shakir Jawdat, Chief of the Iraqi Federal Police, announced the complete liberation of the last, northern neighborhoods of Fallujah from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi came to the city on Sunday to plant the Iraqi flag right downtown. al-Abadi, the commander in chief […]
The Great Battle for Aleppo
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Jordan’s Arabic daily al-Dustour [Constitution] is reporting on what it calls ‘the Great Battle for Aleppo.’ Such a battle isn’t, ideally, supposed to be taking place, by the terms of the cessation of hostilities reached in late November. The rebels in East Aleppo (pop. 300,000) and […]
The Greater Middle East Reacts to British Exit from EU
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The oil-rich Gulf Cooperation countries may see additional buying opportunities in the British market after Brexit. BBC Monitoring reports: “Political analyst for regional issues and Gulf Cooperation Council Hamad Ahmad Abdul Aziz al-Amer says in Saudi pro-government Ukaz that the Britain’s leaving the EU “might lead […]
Did Trump-Style Islamophobia break up the European Union?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In a historic referendum, the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union. The motivations were complex, including a lack of trust in Prime Minister David Cameron, but it seems undeniable that an irrational fear of Muslim immigrants played at least some part in the […]
As Putin Slams NATO, Russia loses Patience with US-Backed Rebels in Syria
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Wednesday President Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian parliament on the 75th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s attack on his country. He said Russia would have to increase its military preparedness given NATO’s “aggressive” actions on Russia’s borders. (He was talking about NATO defensive moves in Poland […]
$206 Mn. to Hate Groups to Promote anti-Muslim Sentiment
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The UC Berkeley Center for Race and Gender and the Council on American Islamic Relations have jointly produced a new study on hatred of Muslims in the United States. As The Guardian notes, it finds 74 organizations promoting hatred of Muslims in the US, with 33 […]
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