Unlwful Killing

( RFE/RL ) – When Iranian aerospace engineer Ayoob Entezari died on May 31, authorities handed his family a letter of appreciation in which they referred to him as a “martyr,” suggesting that he had been killed. Soon after, authorities in the central city of Yazd backtracked, saying the wording in the letter was a […]

Authoritarianism

Biden Reverses himself on Saudi “Pariah,” needing Riyadh’s Oil to Punish Putin for Ukraine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden ran on making Saudi Arabia a “pariah,” given that the CIA accused Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of authorizing the murder in 2018 of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Istanbul Saudi consulate. Biden and a bipartisan majority in the US Congress were also upset about […]

Bush

George W. Bush denounces “the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq — I mean, Ukraine”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Michael Williams at the Dallas Morning News reports on George W. Bush’s speech at his presidential center at Southern Methodist University, during which the former president made what MSNBC’s Mehdi Hassan called “one of the biggest Freudian slips of all time.” Bush denounced the rigged elections that produced the dictatorship […]

International Criminal Court

If we want the International Criminal Court to investigate Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, we need to stop undermining it Ourselves

OtherWords

By Farrah Hassen | – ( Otherwords.org ) – As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, human rights groups have gathered evidence of Russian atrocities against civilians — including executions, rapes, and mass murder. These are war crimes, President Biden asserted recently, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “should be held accountable.” Biden is right. Russia’s […]

Pentagon

Bodies beyond Bucha: The Civilian Deaths You Haven’t Heard About

Nick Turse

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Madogaz Musa Abdullah still remembers the phone call. But what came next was a blur. He drove for hours, deep into the Libyan desert, speeding toward the border with Algeria. His mind buckled, his thoughts reeled, and more than three years later, he’s still not certain how he made that six-hour […]

Houthi

Unlawful Killing in Yemen: Recent Saudi-UAE Attack Targeted Civilians

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Sanaa) – The Saudi and UAE-led coalition carried out three attacks in Yemen in late January 2022 in apparent violation of the laws of war that resulted in at least 80 apparently civilian deaths, including three children, and 156 injuries, including two children, Mwatana for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch […]

Russia

Manifesto published in Russian media reflects Putin regime’s ruthless plans in Ukraine

The Conversation

By Susanne Sternthal, Texas State University | – Shortly after footage emerged of the carnage Russian troops left behind in the town of Bucha, Ukraine, an article was published April 4, 2022, in one of the largest Russian state-run media companies. The article called for even more bloodshed in Ukraine. Written by journalist and Kremlin-aligned […]

Featured

Is Joe Biden Right that the Russians are committing Genocide in Ukraine?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Kevin Liptak reports for CNN that on a visit to Iowa President Biden talked to reporters about Russian actions in Ukraine and for the first time called it “genocide.” Last week, the president and spokesmen for his administration had avoided using that term. Biden said, “I called it genocide because […]

Iraq War

From Mosul to Raqqa to Mariupol, Killing Civilians is a Crime no Matter Who Does it

Medea Benjamin and Nicholas J.S. Davies

( Code Pink ) – Americans have been shocked by the death and destruction of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, filling our screens with bombed buildings and dead bodies lying in the street. But the United States and its allies have waged war in country after country for decades, carving swathes of destruction through cities, towns […]