Iraq

(By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | Niqash) Election posters are everywhere now that campaigning has officially started. Campaigning for Iraq’s general elections officially began this week on April 1. And several trends are already noticeable. The bigger the posters the better. Local politicians are doing a lot of door knocking. And nobody seems to want […]

Afghanistan

US National Security hijacked, flown into Bermuda Triangle of Mysteries

Juan Cole

(By Tom Engelhardt) Isn’t there something strangely reassuring when your eyeballs are gripped by a “mystery” on the news that has no greater meaning and yet sweeps all else away? This, of course, is the essence of the ongoing tale of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Except to the relatives of those on […]

Afghanistan

Ft. Hood & the True Cost of Iraq & Afghanistan Wars: Nearly 1 mn traumatized: PTSD by the Numbers

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Ft. Hood shooter who left 3 victims dead yesterday had been being assessed for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had served for 4 months at the tail end of the Iraq War in 2011 and suffered from anxiety and depression. A staggering 1 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have […]

Human Rights

Iraqi Women’s Rights Under Threat

contributors

(By Erin Evers) Few disagree that the Iraqi government’s increasingly Shia character has alienated its Sunni population—but what has mounting sectarian division meant for the rights of women and girls? Last October, Iraq’s justice minister introduced a draft law to its Council of Ministers which would legalise child marriage and severely affect women’s rights in […]

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 […]

Iraq

Are Some Iraqi Politicians being Disqualified because they Criticized PM Nouri al-Maliki?

Juan Cole

(From a Niqash Special Correspondent in Baghdad) A number of high profile MPs have been banned from running in Iraq’s upcoming general elections – allegedly because they contravene an electoral rule about good conduct. However there is also another thing they all have in common: They are all vehement critics of the current Prime Minister. […]

Human Rights

Iraq’s Freedom Agenda shouldn’t Include Child Marriage and Summary Divorce

Juan Cole

(Human Rights Watch) (Baghdad) – Iraq’s Council of Ministers should withdraw a new draft Personal Status Law and ensure that Iraq’s legal framework protects women and girls in line with its international obligations. The pending legislation would restrict women’s rights in matters of inheritance and parental and other rights after divorce, make it easier for […]

Iraq

Has the US lost Iraq to Iran over Arms Deal?

contributors

(By Mustafa Sadoun in Baghdad) Documents indicating that Iraq was going to buy almost US$200 million worth of armaments from neighbouring Iran have had foreign policy analysts fizzing. Is it a reward for Iraq’s support in Syria? Is it about the spread of Iran’s backers, Russia’s influence? But first, exactly how real is this deal […]

Bahrain

The War on Terror Jumps the Shark as Everyone in the Mideast accuses everyone else of Terrorism

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) In early December of last year, Lebanese Shiite leader Hassan Nasrallah of Hizbullah accused Saudi Arabia of being behind the bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut, i.e. charged Riyadh with terrorism. Then in the middle of December, a small terrorist group that calls itself “Helpers of Holy Jerusalem” blew up the […]