Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Three US servicemen were wounded, along with two Iraqi soldiers, during daylight hours on Saturday when some 33 katyusha rockets slammed into al-Taji Base north of Baghdad. Two of the US soldiers were seriously wounded and are in hospital in Baghdad. The rocket attacks were likely revenge for US air […]
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Arab World
Night of Long Knives: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Grasps for Absolute Power
By Umer Karim and Scott Lucas | – The news seeped out of Saudi Arabia into international outlets late on March 6. King Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz, had been detained along with the king’s nephew Prince Mohammad bin Nayef, former crown prince and interior minister. Reports disseminated to the media said the […]
As Trump stumbles in war on Coronavirus at Home, He Bombs Shiites in Shiite-Ruled Iraq
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – US fighter jets bombed bases of the Kata’ib Hizbullah (“Brigades of the Party of God”) militia in Iraq on Thursday in retaliation for a deadly attack on US troops that left two dead and killed a British soldier as well. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that Trump had greenlighted […]
Ghost of Soleimani: All Hell Breaks lose in Iraq, with 2 Americans, 1 Briton, Killed, as al-Sadr Blames Trump for Coronavirus
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tom O’Connor at Newsweek reports that 18 katyusha rockets slammed into al-Taji Air Base in Iraq on Wednesday, killing two Americans and one Briton, and leaving 12 other Coalition personnel injured. In response, US fighter jets conducted air strikes against the Haydariyun brigades of the Kata’ib Hizbullah, a Shiite Iraqi […]
Why is it only Suspicious when Iran Does it? Energy-Rich United Arab Emirates is about to open 4 Nuclear Reactors
By Paul Dorfman | – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is building the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant, capable of generating 700 megawatts. During daylight, solar power will provide cheap electricity, and at night the UAE will use stored solar heat to generate electricity. But at the same time, four nuclear reactors are nearing […]
Millions of Homeless Syrian Refugees are Suffering Because of Russo-Turkish Rivalry
Juline Beaujouan, University of Edinburgh and Amjed Rasheed, Durham University The Syrian province of Idlib, the remaining holdout of rebels fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad, has experienced fierce fighting in recent months as the Syrian army, supported by Russia, has pushed to reclaim the territory. Meanwhile, the expansionist impulses of Turkish President Recep Tayyip […]
Behind the Turmoil: Russia Provoked Oil Price Fall to Protect its Markets from US Frackers, which could now Collapse
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Last weekend, OPEC Plus, an expanded cartel of petroleum exporters, considered a plan for members to cut back on their oil production so as to support prices in the face of a slowing world economy owing to the novel coronavirus. The Russian Federation rejected the plan put forward by OPEC, […]
“A Toothpick in a Tsunami”: US Big Oil Faces Bankruptcy as Prices Plunge 30% on Saudi Expansion
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Oil prices plummeted by 30% on Monday morning in Asia on news that Saudi Arabia intended actually to cut its prices and increase its production on April 1 to more than 10 million barrels a day. As a result, Asian markets also took a huge hit. Riyadh’s move came after […]
Could Instability in Lebanon Further Strengthen Hezbollah, or Will the Sectarian order Collapse?
Detroit (Special to Informed Comment) – Since its inception as a French mandate at the San Remo Conference in 1920, Lebanon has lived on the cusp of chaos economically, militarily, and politically. For many, life in the mountainous country has been synonymous with major political crises (like the events of 1958 and Operation Blue Bat, […]