History

By John Feffer | (Tomdispatch.com) | – Imagine an alternative universe in which the two major Cold War superpowers evolved into the United Soviet Socialist States. The conjoined entity, linked perhaps by a new Bering Straits land bridge, combines the optimal features of capitalism and collectivism. From Siberia to Sioux City, we’d all be living […]

al-Qaeda

Washington asks, “Who lost Ramadi?” But Washington never had Ramadi

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | — The inside-the-Beltway debate set off by the fall of the Iraqi city of Ramadi to Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) on Sunday is, as usual, Dadaistic in its disconnection from reality. Republican talking points blame Barack Obama for withdrawing US troops from Iraq in 2011, as though Daesh suddenly […]

Apartheid

Who does Jerusalem belong To?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Far right Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commemorated Israel’s “Jerusalem Day” with a speech in which he said, “Jerusalem was always the capital of the Jewish people only, and no other,” and warned that Muslim terrorism menaced it. Jerusalem, Daru Shalem, was founded sometime between 6500 and […]

Archaeology

Syria: Roman Palmyra Monuments in danger as ISIL Fighters Near

contributors

BBC News | Video | – “Islamic State militants move to within a few miles of one of the world’s oldest and most important archaeological cities, Palmyra, in the latest stage of their campaign in Syria.” Islamic State: Fighters near site at Palmyra – BBC News

Colonialism

Palestinian-Israelis: Hundreds pray outside closed mosque in Beersheba

contributors

BEERSHEBA (Ma’an) — Some 250 Palestinians performed Friday prayers outside a mosque in Beersheba in southern Israel that Israeli authorities have kept closed since 1948. The prayers came amid heavy Israeli police presence, with police sealing the roads leading toward the mosque. The initiative was called for by Sheikh Hassan Abu Ubeid from al-Ramla along […]

Africa

Global Connections: World History as Social History – a New Synthesis

Juan Cole

I and colleagues have just brought out a world history. Because of the fine and exciting writing of my co-authors, it is more than just a textbook. My readers often ask me about history books – here’s one I can recommend. By John Coatsworth, Juan Cole, Michael Hanagan, Peter C. Perdue, Charles Tilly, and Louise […]

History

Gallipoli: Prince Charles, Prince Harry in Turkey Honor 130,000 War Dead on Both Sides

contributors

Euronews | – “World leaders have gathered at the World War I battle sites of the Gallipoli campaign to mark 100 years since the British-led invasion. Representatives of countries that faced off in one of the most iconic events of the war honoured the dead in a joint ceremony on Friday, on the eve of […]

History

Mobilizing For Mosul, Iraq: Scholars Work To Save Town’s Heritage from ISIL

contributors

By Coilin O’Connor | (RFE/RL) – While much of the world stands by as the militant Islamic State group takes a sledgehammer to the Middle East’s cultural legacy, a team of Czech scholars is working feverishly to try and save one Iraqi town’s architectural heritage. All across the large swaths of Syria and Iraq that […]

Armenia

Controversy as the “Forgotten Genocide” of the Armenians turns 100

contributors

AJ+ | – “April 24 marks the 100th anniversary of what’s been called “The Forgotten Genocide” and the “Armenian massacres,” when hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of Armenians were killed at the hands of the Ottoman Empire’s Young Turks at the start of World War I. Here’s a breakdown of what happened. […]