Middle East

By Adnan Abu Amer | – Middle East Monitor) – Ever since Israel’s plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley emerged, media and political discussions about them have moved on to more urgent issues, primarily the Israel-UAE normalisation agreement. This reveals a number of internal and external reasons that […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Did the US War on Terror Displace 37 Million?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Brown University Watson Institute Costs of War Project has put out a report concluding that the US-led “War on Terror” has displaced 37 million people. While there are parts of the report I agree with, some of the argument seems to me flawed. Let me explain why that is, […]

Balkans

Trump and Israel are only Winners of Serbia-Kosovo “Historic” Deal, As EU warns over Jerusalem

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Former wartime foes Serbia and Kosovo signed a deal on economic normalization that has very little to do with relations between Belgrade and Pristina, as its main beneficiaries are the United States and Israel rather than local populations in the Balkans. Under President Donald Trump auspices, Serbia’s President Aleksandar […]

Featured

Russia defies US Sanctions, presses Syria on Long Term Trade, Investment deal for Energy

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Russia and Syria are preparing to enter into a wide-ranging trade and investment deal, according to RT Arabic. Sunday night, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov arrived in Damascus to meet with high Syrian officials. On Monday, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov arrived, meeting with Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad and his […]

Donald Trump

As Washington retreats, Eastern Mediterranean conflict further marginalizes NATO

Ramzy Baroud

Middle East Monitor – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance in name alone. Recent events notwithstanding, the brewing conflict over territorial waters in the Eastern Mediterranean indicates that the military union between mostly Western countries is faltering. The current Turkish-Greek tension is only one facet of a much larger conflict involving, aside […]

Iran

Watchdog Describes Iran’s ‘Shocking’ Rights Violations against Protesters

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty | – (RFE/RL ) – Amnesty International has accused Iran of committing “a catalogue of shocking human rights violations” against those detained in connection with the November 2019 antiestablishment protests, including children as young as 10. The violent demonstrations were sparked by a sudden hike in the price of […]

Human Rights

Why is Saudi Arabia Holding its Prominent Political Prisoners Incommunicado?

Human Rights Watch

Safety Concerns for Activists, Ex-Crown Prince, Clerichu

Israel/ Palestine

When it comes to Palestinians, Jared Kushner can’t tell the Difference between Colonial Coercion and Fair Diplomacy

Ramona Wadi

(Middle East Monitor ) – Predictably, Donald Trump’s Senior Adviser Jared Kushner exhibited no historical discernment when justifying the normalisation of relations between Israel and the UAE, and how this will affect the Palestinian people’s political rights. Palestinians, he declared, should not be “stuck in the past.” This was a sweeping statement typical not only […]

Featured

With US AWOL, NATO Allies rattle sabers: Turkish Ruling Party says Greece is now a Rogue State

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Greece and Turkey have been having loud shouting matches this summer, with some pretty ominous language at times. The two are supposed to be NATO allies, but you couldn’t tell it from their bellicose rhetoric. A nationalist Turkish politician, Devlet Bahceli, is quoted as having said of said this past […]