By Paul Rogers | – ( OpenDemocracy.net) – With the US presidential election less than four months away, Donald Trump trails Joe Biden in the polls by a substantial margin. His strategy as his ratings decline has been to concentrate on his core vote, which amounts to a little more than 30% of the population […]
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Palestinian Farmers Struggle against Annexation and the Pandemic
By Salena Fay Tramel | – ( Opendemocracy.net ) – It has not been an easy year for Palestinians, if there ever was such a thing. With the turn of a new decade in January, the U.S. administration unveiled the paradoxically branded “deal of the century” plan—calling for Israel to unilaterally annex about a third […]
Locked up with no escape: refugees and migrants in Libya face bombs,virus and everything in between
By Marwa Mohamed | – (openDemocracy.net) – Libya today is facing its greatest challenge to date. In spite of years of internal conflict, the country must gear up to fight a virus with a depleted healthcare system and a fractured state. While the situation is overall bleak, it remains exceptionally desperate for refugees and migrants […]
Assad and Putin have Waged Total Air War on Idlib’s Civilians, Learning from US Bombing of Iraq
Paul Rogers | – ( OpenDemocracy.net) – The tactics of Syrian and Russian forces are unforgiveable – but scarcely different to what the US and its allies were doing just a few years ago. Around the world, people are watching the suffering of the people of Idlib with pity; their governments are alarmed at the […]
Will Saudi Arabia ever End its Catastrophic War on Yemen?
By Helen Lackner | – ( OpenDemocracy.net ) – While Saudi Arabia seeks an exit from the Yemen war, it is deepening its involvement in the South instead. Last year saw some significant changes in Saudi strategy in Yemen. Following on the UAE departure, the new Deputy Defence Minister, Khalid bin Salman, the crown prince’s […]
Bush Falsely Promised a New Iraq, but now it is being Forged by Crowds in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square
After the death of hundreds of people since the eruption of Iraq’s revolution in October, there is no return to the old system.
Afghanistan War and ‘War on terror’ rage on because the West won’t learn from 20 yrs. failure
By Paul Rogers | – Eighteen years ago the head of the UK’s military warned against relying on military solutions alone. But governments still aren’t listening. Things are not going as well in Afghanistan as the US government would have you believe. Not from a US point of view, anyway. This week The Washington Post […]
Iraqis rise up against 16 years of ‘made in the USA’ corruption
By Nicolas J S Davies | – As the PM announces his resignation, Iraqis continue to demand the withdrawal of the crony capitalism implemented by US backed government officials. As Americans sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, Iraqis were mourning 40 protesters killed by police and soldiers on Thursday in Baghdad, Najaf and Nasiriyah. Nearly 400 […]
Iran’s Gasoline Rebellion as a Crisis of Representation
By Rahman Bouzari | – (OpenDemocracy) – The recent round of spontaneous protests against the petrol [gasoline] price hike has to be contextualized as part of the “long-term revolutionary process” in Iran. The 2017-18 uprisings changed the Iranian political landscape for good. Since then, the Islamic Republic has entered into an ‘organic crisis’ par excellence. […]