By Juan Cole – (Informed Comment) – It is said that one of the things President Obama wanted to talk to comedian Jon Stewart about was his occasional cynicism. “Obama scolded him for turning young Americans cynical.” But the approach to politics taken by Obama until recently — of promising genuine change but governing as […]
Another Bush Legacy in Iraq: Barzani asks PKK to Leave
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Sunday morning, Kurdish separatist guerrillas launched a suicide-bombing strike on Turkish forces in Angri province, using a tractor laden with explosives. On Saturday, the president of the Kurdistan Regional government of northern Iraq, Massoud Barzani, condemned the Turkish airstrikes on Iraq and asked the PKK […]
Syria’s al-Qaeda captures US-Linked Free Syrian Army Commander, troops
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The 30th Infantry Division of the moderate Free Syrian Army says that the al-Qaeda-linked Support Front captured one of its commanders and several troops the day before yesterday. Some 56 members of Division 30 were among the 70 fighters so far trained in a multi-million dollar […]
Has Iran cut off Hamas? Is Hamas turning to Saudi Arabia?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Newsweek is reporting that Iran has cut off funding to Hamas in Gaza, citing Israeli journalism and Hamas sources. Iran’s relationship with the Hamas party-militia in the Gaza Strip has been an roller-coaster ride in the past three years. The youth revolutions of 2011 created hard […]
Turkish Tanks Shell Syrian Kurds who expelled ISIL from Zur Maghar
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Syrian Kurds and the British based Syrian Observatory said Monday that Turkish tanks had shelled the village of Zur Maghar near Kobani on the Syrian side of the border held by the YPG [People’s Protection Unit] leftist Kurdish militia. Four of its fighters were wounded. The […]
Top Six Signs ISIL/ Daesh is Doomed
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – It has been over a year since Mosul fell to Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). In some ways the organization has continued to make advances since then, taking Ramadi and Palmyra in the past few months. It isn’t as important as FBI director James Comey says it is, […]
Turkey’s new “war on terror” mainly targeting Kurds
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – What was at first announced as a new Turkish turn toward attacks on Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) on Friday has quickly become largely a campaign against Kurds instead. It is being alleged that the Turkish Air Force launched dozens of strikes against bases of the Kurdistan Workers […]
Obama in Kenya: Why the Horn of Africa Matters to Geopolitics
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama’s visit to Kenya is of course personal, though he has been there before both as a civilian and as a senator. But it does also have a geopolitical and economic dimension. Kenya is a country of roughly 46 million people, about the same as […]
Turkey enters war on ISIL w/ airstrikes: Does AKP Fear losing Snap Election?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey at long last entered the struggle against Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) on Thursday. It gave the US Air Force permission to bomb sites in Syria from Incirlik Air Force Base. (The US has long had use of this base as part of Turkey’s NATO commitments, and […]
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