Middle East

Turkey will Block Certain Russian Warships from Bosphorus, but still Seeks Neutrality on Ukraine War

By Lamiya Adilgizi | – ( Globalvoices.org ) – Over the last week, nations and corporations all over the world have announced extensive economic and political sanctions against Russia, targeting the finance, energy, transport, technology, and visa sectors. A number of Russian banks have been removed from the SWIFT messaging system. Russia’s Central Bank assets […]

Featured

Americans Shocked to See Ukrainians treated Like Iraqis even though they are White (Not the Onion)

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Some European and American commentators on Russia’s war against Ukraine have covered themselves in shame by implying that because Ukrainians are “European” or “civilized” it is harder to see them hit by artillery and made refugees than it had been with regard to Iraqis or Syrians. While in 2015 Syrians […]

Featured

What can we Learn about Ukraine’s Future from Israel’s Campaigns in Lebanon?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I’ve been thinking about what the Russian invasion and attempted occupation of Ukraine is like in recent history, and one analogy that might be good to think with is Israel in Lebanon. Putin seems to hope that the Ukraine is like Palestine, which the Israelis have successfully kept subdued even […]

Bush

How Bush’s Iraq Fiasco ruined US Credibility and Enabled Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – George W. Bush issued a statement about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It went like this: DALLAS, TEXAS – “Russia’s attack on Ukraine constitutes the gravest security crisis on the European continent since World War II. I join the international community in condemning Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of […]

Israel/ Palestine

It’s Settled That Israel Is Committing the Crime of Apartheid—Now What Should We Do About It?

Phyllis Bennis

( Commondreams.org ) – When Amnesty International released its report “Israel’s Apartheid Against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime Against Humanity” earlier the month, it was clearly part of a rapidly expanding trend. Palestinian human rights defenders, members of Congress and faith leaders in the United States, academics, and activists of the Palestinian rights […]

Israel/ Palestine

Europe Needs to Ban trade with Israeli Squatter Settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (Brussels, February 21, 2022) – The European Commission should prohibit EU trade with settlements in occupied territories globally, Human Rights Watch said today as it signed onto a European Citizen’s Initiative (ECI). The citizen-led initiative, registered with the European Commission in September 2021 and initiated on February 20, 2022, calls for […]

Algeria

Sanctions on Russia may be a Bonanza for Mideast Gas and Oil Producers, but Where will they get their Wheat?

Middle East Monitor

By Ihsan Al-Faqih | – Over the decades, the Middle East has been an arena of contention over influence and interests between the US and Russia in various conflicts. This continued until the end of former US President Donald Trump’s presidency. The involvement of the US in the region’s conflicts has declined since Joe Biden […]

Colonialism

Why Putin’s Denial of Ukrainian Statehood and Israel’s Denial of Palestinian Statehood are Crimes against History

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In his incendiary speech on Ukraine on Monday, Vladimir Putin alleged that Ukraine does not really exist, that it is an artificial construct of the Communist period, crafted by Vladimir Lenin. He declared, “Ukraine never had a tradition of genuine statehood.” When I heard that, it reminded me of the […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel and the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians: Crimes of apartheid do not have a statute of limitations

Middle East Monitor

By Amira Abo el-Fetouh | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – There is no doubt that the report by Amnesty International issued earlier this month pleased all the free people of the world, not only the Palestinians, and gave us a little hope that there is still some conscience in the international institutions which […]