Middle East

Ramona Wadi | @walzerscent | – US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” and the forthcoming economic summit in Bahrain have reaped a multitude of analysis, not least from US officials themselves. Jared Kushner, senior advisor to US President Donald Trump, has now undertaken to impose his definitions regarding the difference between the Palestinian […]

Syria

Russia/Syria: Flurry of Prohibited Weapons Attacks

Human Rights Watch

( Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – The Russian–Syrian joint military operation has used internationally banned and other indiscriminate weapons in unlawful attacks on civilians in northwest Syria in recent weeks, Human Rights Watch said today. According to the United Nations, the area is home to 3 million civilians, at least half of whom […]

Israel

US Blasts Turkey for drilling for NatGas in Cyprus, foiling Israel pipeline deal

Middle East Monitor

The US Ambassador to Cyprus, Judith Garber, has expressed her deep concerns over Turkey’s continued drilling off the coast of Cyprus, and urged Turkey to halt the operations exploring energy reserves in the surrounding waters. Garber made the remarks yesterday evening at the Independence Day reception held at the US Embassy in Nicosia, while in […]

Sudan

Sudan Democracy Protesters Reject Negotiations with Military after Bloody Crackdown

Middle East Monitor

Sudan’s military rulers offered to resume talks with opposition groups on Wednesday, two days after security forces mounted a deadly raid on a protest camp, but the opposition rejected the invitation, Reuters reports. Medics linked to the opposition said the death toll from Monday’s operation and subsequent unrest had risen to 108 and that it […]

Israel/ Palestine

Gaza War Crimes: How long can Israeli Gov’t Evade the Int’l Criminal Court?

Middle East Monitor

The Chief Military Advocate General of the Israeli army, Sharon Afek, and the US Department of Defense General Counsel, Paul Ney, shared a platform at the ‘International Conference on the Law of Armed Conflict’, which took place in Herzliya, Israel between May 28-30. Their panel witnessed some of the most misconstrued interpretations of international law […]

China

Bolton may want War with Iran, but the Pentagon is Eyeing China

Michael T. Klare

(Tomdispatch.com) – The recent White House decision to speed the deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group and other military assets to the Persian Gulf has led many in Washington and elsewhere to assume that the U.S. is gearing up for war with Iran. As in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. […]

Iran

How Two-Faced Trump has targeted Iran for Sanctions & War while Tweeting “Negotiations”

Farhang Jahanpour

(Informed Comment) – On May 24, 2018, the Department of Defense organised a Briefing on Iran with the participation of Katie Wheelbarger, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and Vice Adm. Michael Gilday, Director of the Joint Staff. The Briefing was aimed at providing some information about the despatch of U.S. […]

Featured

Pompeo: Jared Kushner’s Palestine plan “unexecutable;’ Kushner: Palestinians unready for Self-Rule

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I can barely believe it. Mike Pompeo, who can believe 10 impossible things before breakfast every day, including the impending Rapture and Hilary Clinton’s responsibility for Benghazi, isn’t a complete Trumpbot after all. In private remarks to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations that someone recorded and […]

Iran

Will Britain Cave to Trump’s Press for Conflict with Iran?

Jonathan Fenton-Harvey

(Informed Comment) – Donald Trump’s military proliferation in the Middle East and further sanctions on Iran, aimed at isolating Tehran, have driven a deeper rift between the United States and the European Union – which opposes such actions. While Washington is ramping up pressure, and some fear that a conflict is drawing closer, the United […]