Featured

(By Juan Cole) An Egyptian court in the provincial center of El Minya on Monday shocked the world by sentencing 528 persons to death in the killing of a policeman and engaging in vandalism last August. Only 147 of the suspects are actually in custody. The rest were sentenced in absentia. The accused were seen […]

Featured

Why Romney is Wrong that Obama’s Syria Policy Emboldened Putin

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) On Face the Nation on Sunday, Mitt Romney slammed President Obama’s policies toward Russia as “naive” and called the country a “geopolitical adversary” of the US. He also seemed to suggest that Obama’s Syria policy emboldened Russia. He said: “”Well, there’s no question but that the president’s naivete with regards to Russia, […]

Featured

ABC: Bush’s Neocon Spokesman for Illegal US Occupation of Iraq Slams Russia for Crimea

Juan Cole

It just baffles me that failed Neocons like Dan Senor are still given a hearing inside the Beltway. ABC News actually interviewed Senor, the spokesman for the Bush administration’s illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq on the Crimea crisis! Senor had the unmitigated gall to blame President Obama for “Iraq unraveling”!! Let’s see. The American […]

Climate Change

5 Signs Solar Power is Taking over the World

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil) is putting 32 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually into the atmosphere. Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps heat from the sun on earth and prevents it radiating back out to space, this unprecedented human output is causing climate disruption, a […]

Dissent

Top attempts by Dictators to Shut down Twitter in Mideast (including Turkey’s PM Erdogan)

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Trying to close down social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube has been a desperate ploy of dictatorial regimes throughout the world. It doesn’t work very well, since typically users find workarounds. But what is interesting is why authoritarian regimes make the attempt in the first place. At midnight last night, […]

Featured

On Iranian New Year, Russia hints it May Swing Support to Tehran over Crimea Sanctions

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Iran may have gotten a New Year’s gift via the Crimea crisis, as Russia threatens to play the Iran card over proposed US sanctions. As I argued in the New York Times, Russia and Iran are being driven closer to one another as both are now under a US and Western European […]

Featured

Russian Annexation of Crimea, Israeli Annexation of Palestine

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Russia’s annexation of Crimea on Tuesday is among the few significant territorial acquisitions since the end of World War II by one country from another, more or less by force. The only clear parallel I can think of in the post-War period is the Israeli annexation of the Palestinian territories in 1967. […]

al-Qaeda

As Putin recognizes Crimea, his other Client, Syria, Goes on the Offensive

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a geopolitical roll these days, despite US and EU sanctions against some of his closest associates. On Monday he recognized Crimea in the wake of its referendum on secession from the Ukraine, despite Western warnings not to do so, and despite severe questions about the accuracy […]

Featured

Crimea Vote provokes fear of Domino Effect in Eurasia: Turkish FM

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Sunday warned that Crimea’s referendum on seceding from Ukraine pose the threat of a “domino effect” in Eurasia. Will Russia’s rush to referendum and the outcome affect other populations who want to secede, throughout the world? Will it destabilize the current world order? Davutoglu likely had […]