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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iran’s clerical leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke Saturday on the occasion of the state visit to Iran of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said, “The government and people of Iran have always looked and are still looking for expanding relations with independent and trustworthy countries like […]

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Turkey-Russia Tensions Spike as Russia moves into Northern Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian air strikes in Syria are coming closer and closer to the Turkish border in Latakia in the northwest, and there are rumors that Russia is looking at establishing an airbase at Qamishli in the largely Kurdish northeast of Syria. Turkey risks having Russia as a […]

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Netanyahu demands more billions from US after Iran Deal, insults US Envoy, Steals more Land

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – At the Davos World Economic Forum, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted that the deal between the UN Security Council and Iran limiting its enrichment program to purely civilian uses had made Israel less secure, and that it must therefore be granted tens of billions of […]

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No, Gov. Snyder, Flint’s water wasn’t poisoned by “Government”: It was by your Appointee

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Perhaps it is inevitable but it is a shame that some people are gaming out how to profit politically from the lead poisoning of the children of Flint, Michigan (pop. 99,000). In the state capital, the Establishment is trying to blame the crisis on “government” or […]

African-Americans

Palin for Trump: ‘Political Correctness’ (anti-racism) is a Suicide Bomb Vest

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The term “political correctness” has a long and varying history, but what do Donald Trump and Sarah Palin mean when they attack it? They are using it to mean anti-racism. A day after Martin Luther King Day, Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump for president in Ames, […]

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Israeli PM Netanyahu Still trying to derail Iran Nuclear Deal

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – BBC Monitoring reports that over the weekend, even as the great Powers were certifying that Iran was in compliance with the UNSC deal permitting only civilian enrichment of uranium, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who had attempted to derail the negotiations, continued to try to derail […]

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Daesh/ ISIL carries off 400 Women & Children from Deir al-Zor to a fate worse than Death

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) on Sunday attacked an isolated outpost of the Syrian Arab Army in a few neighborhoods in the north of the city of Deir al-Zor, which are surrounded by Daesh from every side. The SAA also still controls a military airfield just north of […]

censorship

Triumph of Diplomacy: Iran, on cusp of Sanctions relief, releases 5 Iranian-American Detainees

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iranian news agencies announced Saturday that the government had released four dual nationals (Iranian-Americans with both passports). A fifth release was later reported. The release is another major diplomatic victory for President Obama and Sec. of State John Kerry, and is good news indeed for the […]

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Noam Chomsky slams Turkish Pres. Erdogan for Arresting Academics, supporting Extremism

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Matthew Weaver of the Guardian reports retired MIT linguist Noam Chomsky’s reply to a personal attack by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan criticized Chomsky and other international scholars who signed a petition against the Turkish government’s current vendetta against Kurdish-Turkish citizens in the country’s southeast. Erdogan […]