Arab World

Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — At least 41 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in two suicide bombs targeting a Hezbollah stronghold in the south of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, according to local news reports. Lebanese Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said initial reports indicated that two suicide bombers blew […]

Featured

Are 2,000 Gulf fighters in Syria a terrorist threat to . . . the Gulf?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – A Saudi preacher has given a press briefing on young men from the Gulf fighting against the al-Assad regime. Although the Hizbullah fighters from Lebanon are often mentioned in the US press as an example of foreign interference, there is little mention of this Gulf contingent. […]

Iraq

Is the Iraqi army a lost cause?

contributors

By Jon Moran | (The Conversation) | – – Building an army in a short space of time is a very difficult task. To be sure, there are some impressive examples. Cromwell’s republican New Model Army was put together while the English Civil War was already underway; Washington’s army of US Independence quickly wore down […]

Jabhat al-Nusra

Syria: The Other Front, not ISIL or Assad: al-Qaeda al-Nusra

contributors

Medyan Dairieh | VICE News | (Video Report) – – “VICE News filmmaker Medyan Dairieh gains exclusive access to the Syrian branch of al Qaeda, al Nusra, a jihadist group fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the Islamic State (IS). Spending more than a month with al Nusra and exploring their expanding territory, Dairieh […]

Christianity

Syria: Christian Militia to the Rescue as 1000s of Christians flee ISIL approach

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite Russian airstrikes, Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) has made some advances in November. One place it has had some success is Homs province, which is vulnerable because Daesh has a position in Palmyra. At the beginning of November, Daesh took Maheen and advanced toward the major Christian […]

censorship

Egypt: Free Journalist Hossam Bahgat, Facing Military Prosecution

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (New York) – Hossam Bahgat, a journalist and one of Egypt’s most prominent human rights figures, could be charged in military court after being detained on November 9, 2015, on military prosecutors’ orders. The prosecutors ordered Bahgat held for investigation on charges of publishing false news related to an […]

Iraq War

How a Web of Lies hoodwinked the American Public and delivered Iraq to ISIL

contributors

By Bryan Glyn Williams | (Informed Comment) | – – Last week one of the major architects in the construction of the Iraqi WMD myth, Iraqi politician Ahmad Chalabi, died of heart failure at 71 in Baghdad. His death brought to an end a sordid chapter in U.S. history that saw Central Command launch an […]

Children

400,000 Syrian Refugee Children Can’t Go To School In Turkey

contributors

AJ+ | (Video Report) | – – “Even though Syrian refugee children can legally go to school in Turkey, language barriers and economic struggles make it hard for them to actually attend.” AJ+: “400,000 Syrian Refugee Children Can’t Go To School In Turkey”

Iraq

How can Iraqi PM al-Abadi defeat ISIL if his own Party has Turned on Him?

contributors

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Nobody in Iraqi politics appears to like Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi much anymore. Some dislike him for his proposed reforms, others for not reforming enough. It’s a no-win scenario. How long can he last? PM Haider al-Abadi: The senior politician may have run out of friends […]