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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – al-Hayat [Life] reports that on Sunday, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, called for unity between al-Qaeda and Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in the face of American, Russian and Shiite forces in Syria. Al-Zawahiri, a mastermind of the September 11 attacks on the US, succeeded Usama Bin Laden when […]

Egypt

Why ISIL is a Vast Exaggeration: & No, it can’t Shoot down Planes

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in the Sinai Peninsula made a big deal of claiming they shot down a Russian airliner Saturday morning. They did not. The plane was at 30,000 feet when it got into trouble. Anti-aircraft weaponry like Manpads can’t reach those altitudes. This kind of […]

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Syria: US Boots on Ground risks Conflict with Turkey, not Russia

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The White House’s announcement on Friday that the US will keep “less than 50” special ops troops at an HQ of the Kurdish YPG in northeast Syria for the purposes of training and strategic counseling raised concerns in some quarters that Russia might inadvertently bomb US […]

al-Qaeda

Syria: On eve of Vienna Summit, Has Russia changed the facts on the Ground?

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Writing in al-Hayat [Life] this week, columnist Walid Choucair outlined the successes he sees Russia to have had in its Syria campaign, and the goals for which it is reaching. Choucair is the Lebanese affairs bureau chief of this pan-Arab, Saudi-owned London daily, which has a […]

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Iran’s Attendance at Syria talks in Vienna marks its Emergence as Regional Power

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia will both attend an international summit on Syria and speak diplomatically about its future for the first time. It won’t be easy, since Iran has 1500 troops on the ground supporting the government of Bashar al-Assad, while Saudi Arabia is […]

Featured

Iran helping build “New Syrian Army;” ISIL fighters Fleeing to Iraq from Russian Airstrikes

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Alarabiya television is reporting 16 new casualties in Syria since October 9 among Iranian fighters there. There are thought to be some 1,500 Iranian military personnel in Syria, though some of these are actually Afghans. Several of those Iranian personnel killed during the past 2 years […]

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Senior National Security Advisers urge Obama to put Spec Ops Troops close to ISIL Front

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Missy Ryan and Greg Jaffe at the Washington Post reveal that President Obama’s senior national security advisers have recommended positioning US special operations forces closer to the enemy lines of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Iraq and even in Syria. Apparently it is felt that Iraqi troops […]

Featured

Bush Lapdog Blair can’t Even Apologize Correctly for Destabilizing the Middle East

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Former British PM Tony Blair reiterated on Sunday some of his previous half-hearted “apologies” for illegally launching a war of aggression on Iraq in 2003. Blair’s “apologies” always take the form of the little boy who, when instructed to apologize for calling a lady fat, says, […]

Bashar al-Assad

Is Russia’s offer of Parliamentary Elections in Syria Serious?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (informed Comment) | – – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said three surprising things Saturday in an interview with Rossiya 1. 1. Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad would have to be part of any transition to a new govering. 2. Syria could have nationwide presidential and parliamentary elections next summer 3. Russia […]