Eastern Europe

By Juan Cole In a new Pew/ USA Today poll, the American public shows itself alarmed by the rise of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in northern Iraq and Syria as a threat to US security, finding it more threatening even than Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who has risen on the villain […]

Eastern Europe

Wagging the Dog: Gaza & MH17 Plane Deaths Stem from Netanyahu, Putin, Search for Popularity

contributors

By Martin Shaw Russia-Israel: domestic politics and serious blowback The Ukraine and Gaza crises alike demonstrate the risks of aggressive policy based on short-term calculations. Vladimir Putin and Binyamin Netanyahu’s war-as-politics invites damaging long-term consequences. The slaughters in Ukraine and Gaza have one thing in common. Both result from governments authorising violence which is overwhelmingly […]

Eastern Europe

Obama needs Europe in responding to MH17 Crash, but NSA Spying a Bar

contributors

By Simon Reich, Rutgers University The tragic circumstances surrounding the downing of Malaysian Airlines’ flight MH17 remain unclear. The three parties who might be responsible – the Ukrainians, the Russians and the rebels – all blame each other. All possess, or have the capacity to possess, the Buk surface-to-air missile system that reputedly brought the […]

Featured

Is Russia Replacing US in Iraq?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday told BBC Arabic that he was buying used fighter jets from the Russian Federation and from Belorussia. He said it had been a huge mistake to depend on the US for arms purchases, since the US arms pipeline is extremely slow and F-16 fighter jets […]

Central Asia

The Eurasian Pivot: Is it China’s and Russia’s Century?

contributors

(By Pepe Escobar via Tomdispatch) HONG KONG — A specter is haunting Washington, an unnerving vision of a Sino-Russian alliance wedded to an expansive symbiosis of trade and commerce across much of the Eurasian land mass — at the expense of the United States. And no wonder Washington is anxious. That alliance is already a […]

Climate Change

The Ukraine Crisis and Qatar’s Ascendancy should Make us think Big Solar, not Gas

Juan Cole

Originally published on SolarWakeup.By Yann Brandt Solar may be a small portion of energy production globally but the importance in geo-politics continues to grow. All energy usage may be local, when a homeowner plugs in their cell phone charge into…

Africa

25 Maps That Will Change The Way You See The World

Juan Cole

25 Maps That Will Change The Way You See The World

Eastern Europe

Russian Sanctions-Busting?: Putin’s bruited 500k b/d oil deal with Iran draws US Threats

Juan Cole

Russia has rejected US criticism of a plan that has been floated to import 500,000 barrels a day of petroleum from Iran on a barter basis. The US Treasury Department has been instructed by Congress to place a financial blockade on Iran. The US has had that country kicked off major international bank exchanges, making […]

Afghanistan

US National Security hijacked, flown into Bermuda Triangle of Mysteries

Juan Cole

(By Tom Engelhardt) Isn’t there something strangely reassuring when your eyeballs are gripped by a “mystery” on the news that has no greater meaning and yet sweeps all else away? This, of course, is the essence of the ongoing tale of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Except to the relatives of those on […]