Arab World

By Juan Cole Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s nuclear energy agency, expressed confidence that the few remaining issues between the UN Security Council and Iran will be settled. Earlier this week, Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, also surprised the world by expressing the conviction that a deal would be reached between the US and […]

Iraq

Top 7 Ways US Intervention in Iraq/Syria could turn Catastrophic

contributors

By Peter Van Buren via Tomdispatch.com What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Seven Worst-Case Scenarios in the Battle with the Islamic State By Peter Van Buren You know the joke? You describe something obviously heading for disaster — a friend crossing Death Valley with next to no gas in his car — and then add, “What […]

European Union

Will Ireland Recognize Palestine?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole After Sweden recognized Palestine, the Irish government began considering doing so. On Thursday, the Irish parliament asked Irish Foreign Minister, Eamon Gilmore, questions regarding this plan. Gilmore affirmed that the Irish government is planning at some point in the near future to move ahead with recognition. A few European Union member states […]

Israel

Surprising Map of Which Countries Recognize Palestine

contributors

AJ+ “Sweden became the first European Union country to recognize the State of Palestine on Oct. 3, and the United Kingdom parliament voted 274-12 in favor of recognizing the State of Palestine. More than 134 countries have recognized Palestine’s bid for statehood since 1988. Here’s a look at the spread of support around the world.” […]

Displaced and Refugees

Humanitarian Crisis: Health Care and Jordan’s 600,000 Syrian Refugees

contributors

By Katy Montoya I was scrambling to take notes when the First Lieutenant of the Jordanian Security Forces joined my conversation with security personnel in one of the small offices of Ruba’a al-Sarhan. “No other country would do this for Syria’s civilians,” he declared. Located close to the Syrian border in the al-Mafraq governate, Ruba’a […]

Displaced and Refugees

The New McCarthyism on Israel: Naming and Shaming . . . Hillel

Juan Cole

By Alice Rothchild Jewish communal and religious organizations have become increasingly donor driven and sclerotic when it comes to discourse on Israel/Palestine. This is clearly in evidence when it comes to the dogmatic guidelines espoused by Hillel International, the umbrella organization for local Hillel chapters on American campuses. Despite spouting pluralism and tolerance, the organization […]

Displaced and Refugees

Real Estate Agents to the Terrorists: ISIL Steals Mosul Refugee Property to Raise Money

contributors

By Nawzat Shamdeen via Niqash.org The Sunni Muslim extremist group that has taken over the northern city of Mosul has a new source of income: real estate. The Islamic State group has confiscated the properties of all those who fled or taken them off those they consider enemies. Locals say the plan is to auction […]

Colonialism

America’s Colonial Armies: Absentee Soldiers, Corrupt Officers and Collapse

contributors

By William J. Astore via Tomdispatch.com In June, tens of thousands of Iraqi Security Forces in Nineveh province north of Baghdad collapsed in the face of attacks from the militants of the Islamic State (IS or ISIS), abandoning four major cities to that extremist movement. The collapse drew much notice in our media, but not much in the way of […]

Featured

Is Baghdad next? ISIL takes Hit Base in Iraq, loots it for Weapons

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole According to Aljazeera sources, ISIL has completed the taking of Hit district in the al-Anbar Province of Iraq. At a time when, supposedly, a range of coalition partners is taking on ISIL and attempting to push it back from the territory it has taken in Syria and Iraq, in fact the organization […]