Middle East

Response of McGuire Gibson, Professor Emeritus of Mesopotamian Architecture , University of Chicago, to Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl Juan: In your devastating post about Iraq’s drought, you could have given more attention to the crucial role of Turkey in flouting international law and damaging Iraq (and Syria) […]

Featured

Is Turkey abandoning Russia to turn back toward the West?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Given the decisions announced by Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, some have speculated that Turkey is “turning back toward the West” after a long period of estrangement and flirtation with Russia. Erdogan finally dropped his opposition to Sweden joining NATO. He backed NATO membership […]

Israel/ Palestine

Is Thomas Friedman one Step Closer to Abandoning Zionism?

Middle East Monitor

Nasim Ahmed Nasimbythedocks I have long held a deep fascination with the intellectual journey of individuals who undergo profound conversions. Religious or political, witnessing the gradual evolution of ideological stances, culminating in the decisive act of severing one’s personal Gordian knots, is truly captivating. With my background, profession and personal interest, I have had […]

military

Turkey’s Erdogan abruptly lifts veto on Sweden in NATO: What it means for the Alliance and Ukraine War

The Conversation

Simon J Smith, Staffordshire University and Jordan Becker, United States Military Academy West Point | – In a surprise move, Turkey has ended its veto on Sweden joining Nato, thereby removing all the barriers to its membership of the military alliance. Hungary quickly followed suit and, as a result of the two countries’ support, a […]

Israel/ Palestine

UN Expert accuses Israel of sexually abusing Palestinian Prisoners

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – Israel has turned Palestine into an “open-air prison” where Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children, are “constantly confined, surveilled and disciplined,” according to Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories. She told the United Nations Human Rights Council yesterday, that […]

China

China as a Mediator in Israel-Palestine

Middle East Monitor

Nor Aishah Hanifa ( Middle East Monitor ) – China’s rise in the 20th century and its advancement in the 21st create what is called a realist security dilemma, and a power struggle in international relations, especially with the baton holder of superpower status, the United States. China’s steady growth as an economic powerhouse and […]

censorship

Is Saudi Arabia using “Sportswashing” to Simply Hide its Human Rights Abuses — Or is there a Bigger Strategy at Play?

The Conversation

By Ben Rich, Curtin University and Leena Adel, Curtin University | – As Saudi Arabia continues to open up internationally, it is yet again in hot water over its human rights record. The current controversy revolves around the kingdom’s increasing presence in the sporting world and accusations of “sportswashing”. In recent years, the Saudis have […]

Bush

Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl

Juan Cole

( Tomdispatch.com ) – It was one of the fabled rivers of history and the Marines needed to cross it. In early April 2003, as American forces sought to wrap up their conquest of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and take strongholds to its north, the Marine Corps formed “Task Force Tripoli.” It was commanded by […]

Africa

Tunisia: Crisis as Black Africans Expelled to Libya Border

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch) – (Tunis) – Tunisian security forces have collectively expelled several hundred Black African migrants and asylum seekers, including children and pregnant women, since July 2, 2023 to a remote, militarized buffer zone at the Tunisia–Libya border, Human Rights Watch said today. The group includes people with both regular and irregular legal […]