Arab World

(By Sarah Leah Whitson) (Jerusalem) – Human rights abuses by Israel and by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank grew during 2013, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2014. Israeli forces killed more Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and demolished more Palestinian homes than in 2012. Israel continued to build […]

Bashar al-Assad

As Geneva II Conference Opens, 1.3 mn. Syrian Refugees Shiver in Lebanon

contributors

(By Molly Crabapple) COFFEE WITH REFUGEES (via techexile.com) “In Lebanon’s Mountains, Syrians Face a Grim Future The teacher never imagined he would live in a tent. He once taught high school philosophy in Homs. He holds a Masters Degree. But now he lives with several dozen other refugee families in a huddle… —– Related […]

Iraq

Healing Iraq’s Rift requires less Black and White Thinking

contributors

(By Nelson Lowhim) The news from Iraq has grown dire lately. Al Qaeda has taken over certain cities (hotbeds of insurgency in earlier times) and has pushed the Iraqi government into a similar position as was the American military less than a decade ago. It is only the fact that the bogeyman—Al Qaeda—has pushed into […]

Bashar al-Assad

Massive War Crimes: Syrian Regime Tortured, Starved, Murdered 11,000 Prisoners

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) A new report by three respected jurists argues that photographic evidence provided by a defector from the Syrian police proves systematic torture and summary execution of thousands of prisoners by the Baath regime headed by Bashar al-Assad. Ian Black at the Guardian broke the story . The authors of the report write, […]

Bashar al-Assad

Fear is Driving Diplomacy on Syria, not Humanitarianism

contributors

(By Martin Gascoigne) Syria, like many countries in the region, is a demographically young country. With a population of 23 million. Slightly over a third are estimated to be below the age of 14. The ‘Arab Spring’ had its well-spring in such demographics. If a lack of hope heralded hopeful changes; it has been a […]

Egypt

The Shame and the Danger of Egypt’s 98% Vote

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The announcement on Saturday by the Egyptian government that there was a 38% turnout for the referendum on the new constitution was unexceptional. It was more than the 33% that turned out to vote on the Muslim Brotherhood constitution of 2012, but not that much more. But the declaration that the constitution […]

Dissent

Assange on Obama Speech: “Embarrassing,” Dragged Kicking and Screaming to Reform by Snowden

Juan Cole

Julian Assange responds to Obama speech on NSA reform at CNN AFP reports: Obama surveillance pledge will change little: Assange (via AFP) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday dismissed President Barack Obama’s proposals to curb the reach of the National Security Agency (NSA), saying they would change very little. In a speech intended to quell […]

Free Syrian Army

Taking on al-Qaeda: Syria’s Uprising within an Uprising

contributors

(By Rania Abouzeid) It was bound to happen, this uprising within an uprising against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a transnational ultraconservative Islamist group that ostensibly fights alongside Syria’s disparate rebel groups but more often intimidates, antagonises, or opposes most of them, including other conservative Islamists. Long brewing tensions between ISIS and […]

Egypt

Last Chance – Annual Informed Comment Fundraiser

Juan Cole

I hope you all like the new design. Of course, the changes are a work in progress but 2014 is an important year for Informed Comment. We will be adding some editorial staff and expanding our coverage to include the most important news organisations in the Middle East to provide a comprehensive political and news […]