Arab World

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Syrian press is watching Oliver Stone’s interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and likes what it sees. Syria’s al-Watan (The Nation) reports that Putin’s Syria policy is the complete restoration of central government authority over the entire country, in preparation for a pull-back of Russian […]

Kurds

Have Syria’s Kurds invented a Democratic Neo-Socialism?

contributors

Dmitry Petrov | (OpenDemocracy.net) | – – In an effort to get through to the Syrian Kurdish autonomous region, I met kindred spirits and found out more about the political and cultural landscape of Iraqi Kurdistan. Sulaymaniyah’s Market Square. Image courtesy of the author.Tossing about on a broken bed in a cheap hostel in the […]

censorship

Do Egyptians have any Rights Left at All? – HRW

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Egyptian authorities in recent weeks have arrested at least 50 peaceful political activists, blocked at least 62 websites, and opened a criminal prosecution against a former presidential candidate, Human Rights Watch said today. The actions are further closing any remaining space for free expression. The charges against […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Aerospace Campaign in Syria: Did Putin kill ISIL’s so-called ‘caliph’?

contributors

TeleSur | – – The statement came a day after Russia said it killed several senior leaders, 30 field commanders and up to 300 of their personal guards in an airstrike last month. Russian Aerospace Forces based in Syria have made significant gains in the first half of June, eliminating two Islamic State group field […]

Iraq

Iraq Deployed Shiite Volunteers to defeat ISIL, but now has a Militia Problem

contributors

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) |. – The Iraqi government’s next big problem is coming into view: The group of powerful Shiite Muslim militias loyal to Iran seem to want to keep the country enmeshed in regional turmoil. As the extremist group known as the Islamic State is driven out of the country, the […]

Donald Trump

How Long can Qatar defy its powerful neighbors? It depends on Trump

contributors

By Nader Habibi | (Conversation) | – – The recent decision by half the nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a few other countries to isolate fellow member Qatar came as a surprise to many – though perhaps it shouldn’t have. Nearly all of Qatar’s residents live in its capital, Doha. Doha skyline […]

Arms Sales

Mattis overrules Trump on Qatari “terrorism,” sells it $12 bn in F-15s

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis defied his boss Donald Trump on Wednesday and inked a deal with the Qatar government to sell it $12 billion in F-15 fighter jets. Qatar hosts a US air base, al-Udeid, where some 11,000 US military personnel are based, and from […]

Arab World

The top 4 Challenges facing the Arab World

contributors

By Tarek Osman | (Project Syndicate) | – – LONDON – Fifty years after the Six Days War, the Middle East remains a region in seemingly perpetual crisis. So it is no surprise that, when addressing the region, politicians, diplomats, and the donor and humanitarian community typically focus on the here and now. Yet, if […]

Arab World

The End of pan-Arab Media? Governments Ban whole Channels, Fine Fans

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Arab countries engaged in a dispute with Qatar have shut down media outlets with links to or considered sympathetic to the Qatari government, Human Rights Watch said today. The action is a violation of freedom of expression. The countries involved include Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the […]