Iraq

Muslims are understandably Protesting Qur’an Burning in Sweden, but the Qur’an itself urges them to do so Peacefully

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Swedish police permitted the burning of the Muslim scripture, the Qur’an (Koran) in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, on the grounds that previous attempts to stop such acts have been overruled by the courts on freedom of speech grounds. Hate acts targeting minorities are not actually free […]

Featured

Saudi Foreign Minister in Iran seeking $1 bn in Bilateral Trade, Security for Gulf Shipping, Justice for Palestine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The London-based pan-Arab newspaper al-`Arab reports on the visit of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to Tehran, where he met with his counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, as well as with President Ebrahim Raisi. It was the first such visit by a high Saudi official since Iran and […]

Bangladesh

Iran leads charge for De-Dollarization at Asian Banks Meeting

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Asian Exchange Union is not a famous international organization, but its meeting on Tuesday in Tehran may have started the ball rolling on a momentous change in global finance, since it dealt with the possibility of de-dollarization. According to the Iranian press, banking representatives from Iran, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, […]

Algeria

A Final Burial for the Arab Spring: Arab League Readmits Syria under al-Assad, as Tensions with Iran Subside

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The foreign ministers of the Arab League states, meeting in Cairo on Sunday, approved the end of Syria’s suspension from membership in that body. Syria was suspended in November 2011 as the Syrian Arab Army was deployed to massacre civilian protesters. The decision was a recognition that the Baath government […]

Iraq

What the Iraq War can teach the US about avoiding a Quagmire in Ukraine – 3 key Lessons

The Conversation

By Patrick James, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences | – Leaked Pentagon papers showed in early April 2023 that the U.S. is allegedly following the inner workings of Russia’s intelligence operations and is also spying on Ukraine, adding a new dimension to the United States’ involvement in the Ukraine war. While the […]

Displaced and Refugees

Singing, trauma and the resilience of the Yazidis of northern Iraq: The power of cultural identity on psychological well-being

The Conversation

By Mylène Ratelle, University of Waterloo | – (The Conversation) – Behind each door and gate in Sinuni, Iraq, there is a different story of trauma and resilience. The Yazidi community is still coping with the trauma and mental health burden following the ISIS genocide of 2014, where thousands of men, women and children were […]

censorship

20 Years After Deadly US Attack, Free Press Still Threatened in Iraq

Human Rights Watch

Sarah Sanbar Iraq Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division @SarahSanbar ( Human Rights Watch ) – April 8 is a day that lives in infamy for media in Iraq. 20 years ago, two American missiles hit the Al Jazeera offices in Baghdad, killing a reporter and wounding a cameraman. Shortly afterwards, American forces […]

Iraq War

Lying about Lying: Why we must revisit the Definition of ‘Fake News’ from Iraq to Palestine

Ramzy Baroud

Dr Ramzy Baroud RamzyBaroud The phrase “fake news” continues to be deployed routinely in US politics. In a polarised political atmosphere, both Republicans and Democrats distrust media organisations affiliated with opposing parties. This means that most of what is uttered or written by CNN is “fake news” for Republicans, and much of what […]

Congress

U.S. Senate in bipartisan Vote repeals decades-old Iraq War Authorizations, But Marco Rubio voted ‘No’

Florida Phoenix

By: Jennifer Shutt – ( Florida Phoenix) – WASHINGTON — U.S. senators revoked their approval for the Gulf and Iraq wars on Wednesday, taking a broadly bipartisan vote to repeal the Authorizations for Use of Military Force that have stayed on the books years after the two wars ended. The 66-30 vote sends the measure […]