Europe

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In the past two days, the Syrian Arab Army and its Shiite militia allies (Hizbullah from Lebanon and others from Iraq) has taken a third to forty percent of the Eastern Aleppo pocket. The northeast zone of the pocket has collapsed, with rebel fights apparently declining […]

Donald Trump

Maybe if most Americans knew who Berlusconi was they wouldn’t have elected Trump

contributors

By Bill Emmott | (Project Syndicate) | – – LONDON – For the past couple of weeks, the world has been guessing at how US President-elect Donald Trump will behave in office and what policies he will pursue, following a long campaign full of contradictory statements. America’s previous businessman-presidents – Warren G. Harding and Herbert […]

Featured

Is Trump “Pro-Russian?” How will Russia Fare? Russians want to Know

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Russian op-ed writers are intrigued with Donald Trump, who has spoken of improving relations between the US and the Russian Federation. But they want to know what the bottom line will be, given his equally strong tough guy bluster. An editorial in the Russian Gazeta.ru […]

Donald Trump

Syria’s al-Assad: Trump “a natural ally”

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In an interview with Portugal television Wednesday, according to al-Hayat, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad said that Donald Trump will be “a natural ally” for Damascus if his administration fights “terrorism.” Asked if he was prepared to work with Trump, al-Assad said, “Naturally, I say that is […]

Counter-Terrorism

Sting & Gandhian anti-Terrorism: Your Paris vacation can help cripple ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Sting, 65, played a concert at the Bataclan Theater where ISIL terrorists killed 90 innocent people a year ago, in one of the worst attacks in the West in recent years. Although the attackers appear to have told their victims the strike was in revenge for […]

Colonialism

60 Years later, Suez Crisis looks a lot like Iraq War

contributors

By Nigel Ashton | (The Conversation) | – – Does history repeat itself? Never perfectly or precisely, but some of the parallels between Anthony Eden’s handling of the 1956 Suez Crisis and Tony Blair’s role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq are worth pondering. In both cases prime ministerial decision-making dictated the course of British […]

Iraq

Int’l Conflict over Aleppo & Mosul is Making local Civil Wars Worse

contributors

By Christopher Hill | (Project Syndicate) | – – DENVER – The Middle East’s tragic tale of two cities – Aleppo in Syria and Mosul in Iraq – speaks to a fundamental lack of consensus in the region and within the broader international community. The lack of order in the international order is greatly complicating […]

Featured

Trump says Clinton will Start WW III with Russia, but Moscow Disagrees

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald Trump alleged on Tuesday that if elected, Hillary Clinton would start World War III with Russia over Syria. He wondered how Clinton would be able to negotiate with Putin, whom she has demonized, and said that her plan for a no-fly zone over Syria would […]

Featured

Russia and Turkey Make up: What implications for Syria, Kurds?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Turkey on Monday for direct talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in a bid to further normalize relations between the two countries. Russian-Turkish trade and diplomatic ties were stress late last fall when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet […]