By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Since his inauguration, Donald J. Trump has not been making a good impression in Iraq, where the US has 6,000 troops, according to al-Zaman (The Times) of Baghdad. The prime minister has forcefully rejected Trump’s talk of “taking Iraqi oil.” And the Shiite clerical leader, Muqtada […]
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Arab World
Trump to al-Sisi: Syria’s al-Assad is a Brave, steadfast Man (Beirut Report)
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – al-Diyar (The Lands) [Beirut] reports on what Egyptian officials allegedly leaked about the telephone conversation between Donald J. Trump and Egyptian president `Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. There is no way to certify the truth of this report. For all I know it is Egyptian propaganda, or Syrian […]
Oil-Rich Arab States Quietly Join Israel in Cheering for Trump
TeleSur | – – Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf Arab allies are happy to see Obama leave office as President Donald Trump would be “very, very tough” on Iran. While the world watched with horror as Donald Trump delivered his aggressive “America First” speech on the day of his inauguration, Saudi Arabia and its […]
Will Saudi Reforms be enough to Forestall big Trouble ahead?
By Bernard Haykel | (Project Syndicate) | – – In 2017, Saudi Arabia will continue to pursue two key goals: to reduce its economy’s dependence on oil revenues and government spending; and to position the Kingdom as a regional hegemon that can meet any threat. The country’s transformation will be difficult, but it is necessary, […]
Kurds Will Come Together to Discuss Independence With Baghdad
TeleSur | – – Kurdish independence “is a reality that will come true,” said Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. Kurdish parties will meet with the Iraqi government to discuss independence, reported Kurdish media on Saturday. The delegation will include five Kurdish parties, who will meet with Turkmen, Chaldean and Assyrian […]
Trump to CIA: We now have 2nd Chance to take Iraq’s Oil
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald Trump has had a contentious relationship with the US intelligence community, in part over their conviction that the Russian Federation attempted to use cyber tradecraft to interfere in the US election on behalf of Trump. His visit to the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters at Langley, […]
The Future of Iraq? As Police Lose Control Of Streets, Militias Take Over
Mustafa Habib | (Baghdad) | (Niqash.org) | – – The volunteer militias formed to fight the Islamic State group are now policing Baghdad’s neighbourhoods. But as they do, they compete with the real police, ignore the real laws and often act more like a mafia. Recently Baghdad local Jafar al-Aboudi’s son got into a fight […]
Even after Russia included US in Syria Peace Talks, can they Succeed?
By Mohammed Nuruzzaman | (Informed Comment) | – – The Middle East keeps going its way as usual, continuously creating global news headlines. Two such current and hot news events are the much awaited peace talks in Astana, the Kazakh capital, between the Syrian government and the diverse rebel groups under Russian–Turkish initiatives, and the […]
Along with pardoning Manning, Obama should have repealed 1917 Espionage Act
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In a daring and bold move that showed his profound humanitarian side, President Obama has commuted the 35-year sentence of Chelsea Manning, a transgender woman and former military intelligence analyst who in 2010 leaked hundreds of thousands of State Department cables and also some Iraq and […]