International Politics and Economy

Chris Woods, Jack Serle and Alice K Ross write at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism Yemen was hit by the highest number of airstrikes in one month since June 2012, though none have been formally confirmed as US operations. No US operations were reported in Somalia. The United Nations also launched a major investigation into […]

Drones

UN to look into US Drone Program, but the Biggest Victim is Democracy

Juan Cole

The US use of armed drones in northern Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen is now being investigated by the United Nations as a human rights abuse or even a war crime. If drones produce significant civilian casualties, their use may be a war crime. If their use constitutes a disproportionate response, it could be a war […]

Drones

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about US Drone Strikes *but Were Afraid to Ask (Currier)

Juan Cole

Cora Currier writes at ProPublica: You might have heard about the “kill list.” You’ve certainly heard about drones. But the details of the U.S. campaign against militants in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia — a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s national security approach – remain shrouded in secrecy. Here’s our guide to what we know— and […]

Drones

Let’s also Remember the 176 children Killed by US Drones

Juan Cole

The US government continues to rain drones down on the tribal belt of Pakistan. While the Washington narrative is that these drones are precision machines that only kill terrorists, this story is not true. The drone program is classified, and so it cannot be publicly debated. It cannot even be acknowledged by President Obama and […]

Islamophobia

Michigan Republicans propose anti-Sharia law to Discriminate against Muslim Americans

Juan Cole

Michigan State legislator David Agema has introduced an anti-sharia bill that attempts to ban the implementation of ‘foreign law’ in the US that would contradict constitutional rights. Agema openly says he wants to target the Muslim-American community of southeast Michigan, falsely alleging that there are terrorist cells among them. Arab-Americans have emerged as an important […]

Drones

How US Drone Assassinations all Began (Woods)

Juan Cole

Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually gets all the credit for the first US drone targeted killing beyond the conventional battlefield. But it was the military which gave the final go-ahead to kill on November 3 2002. Lt General Michael DeLong was at Centcom headquarters in […]

Drones

The United Nations will Investigate Civilian Deaths in US Drone Strikes

Juan Cole

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism writes The United Nations plans to set up a special investigation unit examining claims of civilian deaths in individual US covert drone strikes. UN investigators have been critical of US targeted killings since they began in 2002. The new Geneva-based unit will also look at the legality of the programme. […]

Islamophobia

A Post-Mortem on Muslim Rage: What did the reaction to the Islamophobic Trailer Really Tell Us? (Abootalebi)

Juan Cole

Ali R. Abootalebi writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Today’s journalism and social media, with their increasingly short news cycles, are good at pitching issues but bad at analysis and summations. Stories are just abandoned, however important, as the blogosphere moves on to the Next Big Thing. There is no shortage of opinion […]

Drones

Obama set precedent with Drone Killings for Romney to become Terminator-in-Chief (Ross)

Juan Cole

Alice K. Ross writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: President Obama’s personal involvement in selecting the targets of covert drone strikes means he risks effectively handing a ‘loaded gun’ to Mitt Romney come November, says the co-author of a new report aimed at US policymakers. ‘If Obama leaves, he’s leaving a loaded gun: he’s […]