By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) As Mariam Karouny reports for Reuters, the US air strike on Friday that inadvertently hit a village of non-combatants, killing members of six families, raises new questions about the Obama administration’s approach to fighting Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) in Syria. Despite months of bombing raids, Daesh has lost no […]
Tom Cotton’s ‘Chickenhawk’ Taunt at Iran FM Demeans Jeb Bush, GOP Field
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – So freshman senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) got into a Twitter slamming match with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif this week. Zarif spoke at New York University on Wednesday and asserted that if there were a UNSC deal on Iran’s nuclear energy program, international sanctions would be […]
Fatal Triangle: Saudi, Iran, US Tensions spike over continued Yemen Airstrikes
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – The attention span of US television news is so short that it is difficult for it to cover ongoing wars in which there isn’t dramatic news every day. Not to mention that getting a camera crew into some conflict zones is highly dangerous or just impossible (television […]
Global Connections: World History as Social History – a New Synthesis
I and colleagues have just brought out a world history. Because of the fine and exciting writing of my co-authors, it is more than just a textbook. My readers often ask me about history books – here’s one I can recommend. By John Coatsworth, Juan Cole, Michael Hanagan, Peter C. Perdue, Charles Tilly, and Louise […]
The Middle East Policy of President Bernie Sanders
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Bernie Sanders opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation of that country. Sanders wanted to get out of Afghanistan from 2011 much faster than the timetable announced by President Obama. Obama has now more or less extended a US military presence in Afghanistan, advertised as […]
Iran calls for Nuclear Disarmament by US, Israel, World
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | — At a summit on Monday, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif turned the tables on the countries demanding that Iran keep its nuclear program for solely civilian, electricity generation. Zarif called for all countries to give up nuclear weapons, including Israel and the US. Iran does not […]
Anger Translation: Why Obama was Ranting against GOP Climate Policy at Press Dinner
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – The Comedy Central show, Key and Peele, made famous a bit by Keegan-Michael Key on Obama called the “Luther, the anger translator,” which plays on the president’s laid back approach to controversial issues. But at the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner, Obama outdid “Luther” in ranting against climate […]
Beyond the Headlines: The New Arabs (Juan Cole Interview)
Jack Segal | International Affairs Forum (Traverse City) | – “For three decades, Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan has sought to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context. This conversation will add to that endeavor. Beyond the Headlines is hosted […]
Syria: Al-Qaeda takes Jisr al-Shughur, threatening Key Port
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – A coalition of extremist groups with al-Qaeda ties managed on Saturday to take the city of Jisr al-Shughur from the Syrian army. Among them were fighters of the Support Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) and the Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant (Ahrar al-Sham). Also involved was […]
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