By Juan Cole In a big setback for the Obama administration’s Syria policy, the al-Qaeda affiliate Succor Front (Jabhat al-Nusra) took the town of Deir Sunbul and its environs this weekend away from the Syria Revolutionaries Front, a relatively secular-minded group viewed as “moderates” by the United States. Deir Sunbul lies in the Jabal al-Zawiya […]
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Featured
Iraq: US dismayed Shiite Gov’t hasn’t Armed Sunni Tribes fighting ISIL
By Juan Cole The pan-Arab London daily Hayat [Life] reports that members of the al-Anbar provincial council say they have met with American officials who are “disgusted” and the slowness of Baghdad to arm the Sunni Arab tribes fighting ISIL. Last week 220 members of the Al-Bu Nimr tribe were murdered by ISIL for taking […]
Iraq: Grand Ayatollah Sistani joins Hagel in calling for Arming Sunni Tribes of al-Anbar
By Juan Cole Al-Zaman (The Times of Baghdad reports that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistan is calling, just as is US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, for the arming of Sunni tribes in al-Anbar Province to fight ISIL in Iraq. (The Shiite-dominated Iraqi government in Baghdad has been reluctant to move too quickly toward creating Sunni […]
Far Right Extremist Avigdor Lieberman says Swedish Recognition of Palestine will Strengthen Extremists
By Juan Cole There was a time when people like Avigdor Lieberman were not welcome in Israeli politics, or, indeed, in Jewish circles in the United States. Dogged by accusations of corruption (though acquitted in the Israeli courts) and widely considered a racist and flamethrower, Lieberman has emerged as Foreign Minister, a powerful cabinet post. […]
BDS Success: Israeli Firm Sodastream Leaves Palestinian West Bank after Boycott
By Juan Cole AJ+ SodaStream Leaving West Bank After Boycotts AJ+ : “Facing an intensive boycott campaign, the controversial Israeli company that makes home soda machines is leaving the West Bank. Bye, Sodastream!” Background: Informed Comment wrote on this issue last January: “The determination of the Likud Party to annex the Palestinian West Bank is […]
Turkey allows Kurdish Peshmerga to Cross to Kobane
By Juan Cole The Turkish press is reporting that Turkish intelligence is facilitating the crossing of a couple hundred paramilitary troops (Peshmerga) from Iraqi Kurdistan to the Turkish town of Suruç, 16 km from the Syrian border. They intend to help relieve the besieged Kurdish-Syrian town of Kobane, which is being attacked by ISIL. The […]
Iraq: Is the Sunni-Shiite Slaughter at Jurf al-Sakhr really a US Victory?
By Juan Cole Apparent good news was announced on Sunday in the fight against the extremist ISIL organization: The Iraqi army, backed by fundamentalist Shiite militias, managed to take the village of Jurf al-Sakhr, southwest of Baghdad, from ISIL fighters. This town has a population of about 80,000, consisting mostly of Sunnis from the Janabi […]
The Tunisian Achievement
By Juan Cole Fears that the historic vote on Sunday in Tunisia might be marred by violence committed by the country’s tiny lunatic fringe were not borne out. The interim government of Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa deployed 80,000 police and troops to protect polling stations. Contrary to the breathless reporting one hears in the mass […]
Top 5 Things More Americans will die of than Ebola this Year, including Guns
By Juan Cole The odd hysteria about ebola is being driven more by a media frenzy than the actual public health risks. Ebola is not the sort of disease that is likely to turn into a pandemic, becoming really wide spread. It is too hard to contract (it doesn’t spread by infected persons just breathing […]
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