Arab World

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US plans to send another 500 troops to Iraq to help with the massive Mosul campaign, which will involve the Iraqi army and its allies, the Kurdistan paramilitary Peshmerga, hard line Shiite militias, and Sunni Arab tribal levies. US troops will not engage in war-fighting […]

Saudi Arabia

Questioning US Arms Sales, impunity for Saudi Arabia

contributors

By Carlyn Meyer | (Informed Comment) | – – The bi-partisan failure to review the nature and benefit of the US-Saudi relationship has been a striking feature of US foreign policy for decades. Despite serious questions about the link between the intolerant Wahhabi form of Islam promoted by the kingdom and the rise of a […]

Saudi Arabia

UN Calls Out Saudi Arabia for Killing Yemeni Women and Children

contributors

By TeleSur | – – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon demanded all parties fighting in Yemen “fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.” In a rare move, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called out Saudi Arabia on Thursday for airstrikes in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians, including women and children. On Wednesday the U.S.- and […]

Iraq

Iraq’s Growth Industry: Free-Lance Civilian Bomb Disposal

contributors

By Kamal al-Ayash | Ramadi | ( Niqash.org) | – – Locals are struggling to get rid of the explosive booby-traps the Islamic State left as they withdrew from Ramadi. For one group of daring locals, defusing the bombs has become a lucrative new job opportunity. In the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, it is […]

Climate Change

Welcome to Masdar City: the ultimate experiment in sustainable urban living

contributors

By Susan Lee | (The Conversation) | – – Ten years ago in the United Arab Emirates, a new settlement was started from scratch, with the aim of becoming “the world’s most sustainable city”. Masdar City was designed to be zero-carbon and zero-waste, home to a population of 40,000 people, with an additional 50,000 commuters, […]

Featured

Obama: End terrorism like that in New York by Destroying ISIL in Mosul, Iraq

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama met yesterday with Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi and discussed the coming campaign to take the northern Iraqi city of Mosul away from Daesh, entirely destroying the terrorist organization’s territorial power in Iraq. Obama expects the campaign to be launched before the end of […]

Russia

Syria: Are Russo-Iranian and US-Saudi interests converging enough for a Ceasefire?

contributors

By Mohammed Nuruzzaman | (Informed Comment) The Syrian civil war is now in its sixth year, with occasional ceasefire deals made and violated by the warring parties being a cyclical process. The latest ceasefire agreement brokered by the U.S. and Russia, which came into effect on September 12, is standing on shaky grounds. The U.S.-led […]

Featured

In Massive Intel Error, US Kills 80 Syrian Troops, Helps ISIL Advance

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In a massive intelligence failure, the US Air Force hit a Syrian military installation in Deir al-Zor that it thought was Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). But it turned out to be the Syrian Arab Army position at Deir al-Zor military airport. The strike killed 80 soldiers and […]

Featured

“Pigs! Crusaders!”: US-Backed Fundamentalist Militias drive US Commandos out of al-Ray, Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – As Raf Sanchez of The Telegraph writes, fundamentalist militiamen of the US-backed Free Syrian Army chased US commandos out of al-Ray in Syria near the Turkish border, cursing them as “pigs” and “crusaders” and asserting that the US is attempting a military occupation of Syria. Full […]