Arab World

(By Andrew Beale) Map of Palestine from late 19th century. (Flickr/T.H. McAllister) Lior Amihai didn’t grow up knowing the location of the internationally recognized border between his native Israel and the West Bank. “It wasn’t until I was 24, 23, 25-ish when it hit me that I don’t really understand what the Green Line is,” […]

al-Qaeda

As Putin recognizes Crimea, his other Client, Syria, Goes on the Offensive

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a geopolitical roll these days, despite US and EU sanctions against some of his closest associates. On Monday he recognized Crimea in the wake of its referendum on secession from the Ukraine, despite Western warnings not to do so, and despite severe questions about the accuracy […]

Human Rights

Celebs to UN: Protect Palestinian Refugees in Syria (Alfonso Cuaron, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Sting & 25 Others)

Juan Cole

Celebrities press UN on Palestinian refugees in Syria (via AFP) Some 30 celebrities have petitioned the UN demanding they take action to protect civilians, notably Palestinian refugees, caught up in the Syria conflict as it entered its fourth year on Saturday. Stars including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Sting, Roger… ——- Related video: BBC reported […]

Human Rights

Iraq’s Freedom Agenda shouldn’t Include Child Marriage and Summary Divorce

Juan Cole

(Human Rights Watch) (Baghdad) – Iraq’s Council of Ministers should withdraw a new draft Personal Status Law and ensure that Iraq’s legal framework protects women and girls in line with its international obligations. The pending legislation would restrict women’s rights in matters of inheritance and parental and other rights after divorce, make it easier for […]

Iraq

Has the US lost Iraq to Iran over Arms Deal?

contributors

(By Mustafa Sadoun in Baghdad) Documents indicating that Iraq was going to buy almost US$200 million worth of armaments from neighbouring Iran have had foreign policy analysts fizzing. Is it a reward for Iraq’s support in Syria? Is it about the spread of Iran’s backers, Russia’s influence? But first, exactly how real is this deal […]

Bashar al-Assad

Four Reasons Syria Refugees are a Bigger Story than Malaysian Air MH 370

Juan Cole

It is a tragedy that the 239 passengers on Malaysian Air MH 370 never made it to Beijing, and appear to have been the victims of a hijacking that went horribly wrong. But the hours and hours of US cable television speculation about the fate of the flight during the past seven days are a […]

Arab Spring

Dear Arab Liberals: The Enemies of your Enemies aren’t Necessarily your Friends

contributors

(By Karim Emile Bitar) One of the principal reasons the revolutionary impulse unleashed in 2010 proved so inspiring was that it finally gave full voice to liberals, democrats and progressives of the Arab world, who rejected the idea that their only governmental options lay in sinister alternatives of authoritarian military cliques that had ruled for […]

Free Syrian Army

Syria: Kurdish Women Soldiers take on Extremist Jihadis

Juan Cole

DW writes, “According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have died in the civil war in Syria so far. The real number of dead is probably much higher. Many “Free Armies” have formed in the country, and they all want one thing: to topple Bashar al-Assad.” DW: “Syria: Kurdish women soldiers against jihadists […]

al-Qaeda

Cole @ C-Span: Egypt and the Birth of al-Qaeda (video lecture)

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) My class lecture, “Egypt and the Birth of al-Qaeda,” was filmed by C-Span in February and has been shown on television; it is now available on the web (click here)