By Juan Cole President Obama admitted on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday that the US had underestimated the military potential of ISIL. Obama understands that a generational struggle is going on in the Middle East, but some of his comments in the interview seemed to me to show insufficient appreciation for the true nature of […]
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Syria
Iraq: Shiites Paralyzed by infighting as ISIL menaces Baghdad
By Juan Cole The pan-Arab London daily “al-Sharq al-Awsat” [The Middle East] is reporting from a source inside the new Iraqi government that former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, now one of three largely symbolic vice presidents, is attempting to undermine his successor, Haydar al-Abadi. Al-Abadi has abolished the office or rank of “general commander of […]
Syria: If Violent Extremists are the Problem, why is al-Assad Jailing Peaceful Democracy Advocates?
By Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch In a speech before the European Parliament in 2009, Syrian activist Mazen Darwish warned that unless civil society was strengthened “[the whole] region, not only Syria … could explode at any moment and leave behind thousands of refugees.” A dire warning at the time, Darwish’s prophetic words fail to […]
Syria to Afghanistan: US Military Policy hasn’t Solved the Zone of Crisis & may Enlarge it
By Amin Saikal, author of Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq The Middle East and its wider eastern environs are in the grip of multiple humanitarian and geopolitical crises. The entire region from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria to Palestine and Libya is shattered by more violence than usual and long-term […]
US strikes ISIL oil fields in Quest to Defund it: But will it Replace oil with Fracking?
By Juan Cole Sawt al-Iraq [Voice of Iraq] reports that during the past two days, Saudi, UAE and American fighter jets attacks small oil refineries originally built for Syria by Turkey, which had been run by ISIL in Deir Ezzor. the day before yesterday the allies struck 12 refineries that ISIL had been in control […]
What Arab partners will get in return for strikes on Syria
By Lars Berger The decision by President Obama to launch missile and air strikes against Islamic State (IS) and the al-Qaeda affiliate “Khorasan” in Syria draws the United States ever closer to yet another prolonged military confrontation in the region. But there’s a difference this time: the participation of a coalition of Arab states, variously […]
Hidden Camera Reveals Chilling Life Under ISIS Control
The Young Turks: “”A mother, with an AK-47 slung over her shoulder, walks her child to a playground. A man driving a car orders a woman to cover her face: ‘God loves women who are covered.’ A woman in an Internet cafe, in flawless French, tells her mother that she won’t be coming home: ‘I […]
Syrian Media Hail America as Damascus Ally, Support UN Ban on Foreign Fighters
by Juan Cole Aljazeera Arabic reports on the reaction in Syria to US air strikes against ISIL, which included attacks on Wednesday on their oil installations, an important revenue stream for the terrorist organization. It turns out that the Damascus press is giving President Obama an uncomfortable embrace. This kind of talk is deadly to […]
Syrian regime Propaganda coup as Israel Downs Syrian Plane over Golan
By Juan Cole Israel shot down a Syrian MiG fighter jet on Tuesday, saying it had penetrated into Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights. The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad took little time to imply that the Israelis were thus protecting the al-Nusra Front, instead of joining in the fight against al-Qaeda offshoots. The […]
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