By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) A bombing that killed 3 people and wounded 10 on Saturday outside the US consulate in Irbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, raises an important question about the US diplomatic presence in the eastern reaches of the Middle East. Is it still possible for diplomats to do their work this way? The […]
Iraq: Why it doesn’t Matter if Ezzat al-Douri was Killed
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – The currently partly unemployed Iraqi governor of Salahuddin Province, displaced from much of his territory by Daesh (ISIS or ISIL), maintains that former Baath vice president of Iraq under Saddan Hussain, Ezzat al-Douri, has been killed by Shiite militias in a firefight north of Tikrit in the Hamrin […]
Juan Cole: Syria, Yemen Conflicts only seem to be about Sunni-Shiite from 30,000 Feet
David Speedie | (Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs) | – David Speedie of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs interviewed me in New York on Monday. Below is an excerpt of the transcript, but the whole thing is at their web site. Also below is the video of the interview. DAVID […]
Iraq: ISIL surrounds 300 Sunni families, Closes in on Ramadi
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Al-Khaleej (The Gulf) reports that Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has taken new territory in the western Al-Anbar Province of Iraq and may be on the verge of taking the provincial capital, Ramadi, a week after they were decisively defeated in Tikrit in the south of Salahuddin Province. They were […]
Iran: Putin Explains to Israel’s Netanyahu: Air Defense System is, like, Defensive
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Tuesday with regard to the Russian Federation’s decision to go ahead with the sale to Iran of S-300 anti-aircraft batteries. Iran bought the batteries several years ago, but delivery was delayed by Moscow because of […]
Water Delivery, Hospitals endangered as Yemen is plunged into Darkness
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Yemen generates 800 megawatts of electricity under ordinary circumstances, which powers its hospitals, including emergency care units, and helps deliver water to households. Nearly half is generated by a power plant in Maarib in the south. On Tuesday, that plant went dark for reasons that are not entirely […]
President Hillary Clinton’s Middle East Policy: Interventions, Wars, More of Same
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – Hillary Clinton announced her bid for the presidency Sunday, prompting another of these attempts at IC to do a quick overview of what we can expect from the candidates with regard to Middle East policy. Clinton supported Israel’s attack on defenseless Gaza last summer, which left about 2000 […]
US history of coup-making Overshadows Obama’s outreach to Iran, Latin American Left
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – President Obama met with Cuban President Raoul Castro for an hour on Saturday, and the two made progress on plans to restore diplomatic relations. Before the meeting, Obama said, “I think that after 50 years of policy that had not changed on the part of the United States, […]
Spain at 70% non-Carbon Electricity: Will it be 1st Net Carbon Zero G-20 State?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – CleanTechnica reports that Spain got nearly 70% of its electricity from plants that did not generate carbon dioxide in March. The two biggest non-carbon energy sources were nuclear and wind. In recent years, the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy cut some government subsidies and other help to the […]
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