Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some 17 katyusha rockets targeted a military base south of Mosul Saturday morning where US troops are based. There are no reports of casualties. In that strong Sunni area of Iraq, the attack was unlikely to be the work of Iran-backed Shiite militias, but ISIL remnants are more likely. This […]
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Iraq
What hope for a New Generation of US Troops graduating into the Forever Wars?
(Tomdispatch.com) – Patches, pins, medals, and badges are the visible signs of an exclusive military culture, a silent language by which soldiers and officers judge each other’s experiences, accomplishments, and general worth. In July 2001, when I first walked through the gate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at the ripe young age […]
Unconstitutional: VP Pence Directed USAID Help for Iraqis to tiny Christian Minority
by Yeganeh Torbati | (ProPublica) | – Officials at USAID warned that favoring Christian groups in Iraq could be unconstitutional and inflame religious tensions. When one colleague lost her job, they said she had been “Penced.” Last November, a top Trump appointee at the U.S. Agency for International Development wrote a candid email to colleagues […]
The Iraqi and Lebanese Popular uprisings Caught between Iranian and Israeli Geopolitics
By Oraib Al-Rantawi | @OraibAlRantawi It is not only Iran that is paying close attention to the uprisings of the Iraqi and Lebanese people; Israel is also monitoring the situation closely, especially in Lebanon. It has also been involved in the Iraqi crisis recently and dealing direct blows to the Popular Mobilisation Forces and the […]
Biggest Iraqi Crowds in History Demand changes in Bush Constitution
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Dubai’s Al-Akhbar al-An reports that further large demonstrations broke out in Iraq on Saturday, leaving 91 wounded and one dead. Friday saw some of the largest demonstrations in modern Iraqi history. Protesters are demanding an end to corruption and sectarianism and want a government that can deliver basic services. They […]
Death of al-Baghdadi: ISIS Grew Out of U.S. Invasion of Iraq: Cole @ Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! | Video Interview and Transcript | – Amy Goodman kindly had me on Democracy Now! Monday to discuss the US raid that killed ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and its broader context in Middle Eastern and US politics. Transcript below the video. Democracy Now! “Death of al-Baghdadi: ISIS Grew Out of U.S. Invasion […]
No, Trump isn’t Bringing Troops home: Not those in Syria, or any of the 60,000 in the Mideast
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Although Trump keeps talking about bringing the troops home from the Middle East, that isn’t what he is doing. There are some 60,000 US troops in and around the Middle East. There is no prospect of any significant number of them “coming home” any time soon. In fact, Trump just […]
An Arab Autumn:The Hidden Political Poison That Iraq And Lebanon Are Really Protesting About
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – This month Iraq and Lebanon have anti-government protests in common. Partially that’s due to the ineffective and deeply corrupt quota system their governments also share. There’s no easy way out of this trap. Politics More in common than you might know. Thousands of locals in Lebanon […]
No, Trump’s Withdrawal from Syria is not Like Obama Leaving Iraq
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some observers are likening Trump’s abrupt departure from Syria and President Barack Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. The two events show no resemblance whatsoever, and the frequently-made charge that Obama could have stayed in Iraq is incorrect. Here’s the difference. 1. Obama did not betray America’s allies in Iraq, […]