Arab World

By Brian Whitaker | (Al-Bab.com) | – – Several hundred Egyptian Christians have fled their homes in North Sinai over the last few days following a series of murders attributed to supporters of the so-called Islamic State. Since the end of January at least seven people have been attacked and killed in the provincial capital, […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Palmyra: Trump about to find out that Hizbullah best anti-ISIL Fighters

contributors

TeleSur | – – The so-called Islamic State group [ISIL] has razed ancient monuments during both of its spells in control of Palmyra, a destruction the United Nations has condemned as a war crime. Syrian government forces and their allies fought their way into Palmyra Wednesday, driving back ISIL who have held the historic city […]

Iraq

ISIL: In Iraq’s desert, mass grave horror beneath the dirt

contributors

AFP | (Video News Report) | – – “The sinkhole that could be the largest mass grave in Iraq’s latest conflict is barely visible from the road, nothing more than a small depression behind a desert ridge near Mosul. The Islamic State group transformed the Khasfah into a “place of death”, using it as an […]

Iraq

After Mosul: Can Iraq survive without a unified National Army?

contributors

By Balsam Mustafa | (The Conversation) | – – The operation to retake Iraq’s second city of Mosul from the so-called Islamic State [group] (IS) has entered its crucial phase. The Iraqi army, federal police, elite counter-terrorism units, and rapid response troops are operating on the ground, bolstered by discreetly embedded US special forces. The […]

Houthi

As Trump Goes In: Foxing the public over Yemen and Iran

contributors

By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com ) When it comes to reporting the conflict in Yemen, Fox News is exceptionally bad. Fox has been fooling its viewers for years but now, with Donald Trump installed in the White House, the problem is becoming a more serious. Trump is a devotee of Fox News: it tells […]

art and photography

Photo of the Day: Gaza (the Old Town), 1862

contributors

The New York Public Library | Francis Frith | – – The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. “Gaza (the Old Town)” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed February 26, 2017. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47d9-5c4b-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 Title: Gaza (the Old Town) Names: Frith, Francis (Photographer) Collection: […]

Bush

Did David Brooks & the NeoCons pave the Way for Trump?

contributors

By Andrew J. Bacevich | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Apart from being a police officer, firefighter, or soldier engaged in one of this nation’s endless wars, writing a column for a major American newspaper has got to be one of the toughest and most unforgiving jobs there is. The pay may be decent […]

Yemen

Under Saudi Bombardment, 33% of Yemenis Food Insecure

contributors

TeleSur | – – The U.N. says almost half a million children in the country are at risk of death from famine as Saudi Arabia’s war in the country completes a second year. At least seven million people in Yemen are facing starvation as a result of the humanitarian crisis caused by almost two years […]

Afghanistan

The Misuse of American Military Power and Mideast Chaos

contributors

By Danny Sjursen | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – The United States has already lost — its war for the Middle East, that is. Having taken my own crack at combat soldiering in both Iraq and Afghanistan, that couldn’t be clearer to me. Unfortunately, it’s evidently still not clear in Washington. Bush’s neo-imperial triumphalism failed. Obama’s […]