Arab World

Boom Live | – – Poet Ashraf Fayad has been sentenced to death by a Saudi Arabian court. He was charged with accusations of public ‘blasphemy’ and has less than 30 days to appeal.” Also, Saudi Arabia is suing a Twitter user who said this death sentence for atheist poetry is “ISIL-like.” Guess what, Saudi […]

Iraq

Iraq: Eastern front against ISIL slowed by Internal Divisions, Unenthusiastic USAF

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | (Niqash.org) | – – Iraqi fighters in Anbar are waiting to push the Islamic State group out of cities like Ramadi. But they wonder when it will happen, if ever. Many believe that politics are why this particular victory must take so long. The tribal fighters of the central Iraqi province […]

Featured

Putin: Turkey supports Radicalism & We may have to Respond, hence Tourism Ban

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday explained his rationale for asking Russian tourists to leave Turkey, and it is ominous. He anticipates that there may be further “incidents” between Turkey and Russia over Syria policy, and that Moscow may be constrained to “respond.” In that case, […]

Displaced and Refugees

Struggling Syrian Refugees are being failed by Int’l Aid System

contributors

Dawn Chatty | (OpenDemocracy) | – – “As the war is prolonged, families are exhausting their savings. Without a massive re-thinking of how aid is delivered and distributed, refugees in the region are going to look for ways to leave.” As I write, Russian air bombardment in Syria is pushing even greater numbers of middle […]

al-Qaeda

Why did Turkey dare shoot down a Russian Plane? The Proxy War in Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Turkish government decision to down a Russian jet operating in the north of the Syrian province of Latakia is breathtaking in its boldness. Russia may no longer be a superpower, but it is a nuclear-armed great power. The newly elected Justice and Development Party (AKP) […]

Bashar al-Assad

Can France forge a grand alliance against ISIL that includes Putin & Obama?

contributors

Shelby Holliday | (WSJ Video Report) | – – “In the wake of the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande is traveling to Washington and Moscow to build support for a new “grand coalition” to defeat Islamic State. As WSJ’s Shelby Holliday reports, disagreement over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could stand in […]

censorship

Saudi Arabia: Poet Sentenced to Death for Apostasy

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – A Saudi court sentenced a Palestinian man to death for apostasy on November 17, 2015, for alleged blasphemous statements during a discussion group and in a book of his poetry. The accused, Ashraf Fayadh, 35, denies the charges and claims that another man made false accusations to […]

Bashar al-Assad

From Putin To Khamenei: A Koran Copy With Its Own History

Juan Cole

By RFE/RL | – – It may not be the original version of the first . . . edition of the Koran, dating back 1,500 years, but it’s still quite a book. In a meeting heavily publicized by Russian media, President Vladimir Putin on November 23 gave Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei one of the […]

Iraq

Pushing back against ISIL/ Daesh: How the Kurds Reclaimed Sinjar

contributors

VICE News | (Video report) | – – “Islamic State (IS) fighters swept into the Iraqi city of Sinjar in August 2014, forcing Kurdish peshmerga forces to retreat. The city, primarily made up of Yazidis, a religious minority with roots going back thousands of years in the region, was soon overran with IS militants. They […]