Middle East

Russia and China are both putting their feet down about the talk in the US and France about renegotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 agreement on freezing and curtailing Iran’s nuclear enrichment program by the UN Security Council and Germany in return for lifting international sanctions. US President Trump is threatening […]

Iraq War

Iraqi Oil for Israel? 15 Years later, new Light on the Iraq War

contributors

By Gary Vogler | ( University of Kansas Press Blog) | – – April 24 marks the 15th anniversary of my initial entry into Baghdad as the senior oil advisor to retired Lieutenant General Jay Garner, our US government civilian leader in Iraq. It was the beginning of my six plus years in Iraq working […]

Syria

Syrian Gov’t Secures Capital, takes E Qalamoun from Saudi-backed ‘Army of Islam’

contributors

Beirut (AFP) – Syria’s regime Wednesday moved towards sealing its grip on the capital as it retook a new region outside Damascus from rebels and pounded its southern districts to oust jihadists. Seven years into Syria’s civil war, President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has ramped up its efforts in recent weeks towards securing the capital with […]

Ottoman Empire

Turkish Youth, WW I’s Gallipoli Battle, and the Secular-Religious Divide

contributors

By Brad West and Ayhan Aktar | (The Conversation) | – – With ongoing political instability and security concerns in Turkey, we are again likely to see a smaller turnout of Australians and New Zealanders for Anzac Day ceremonies at Gallipoli this year. Turkish soldiers in a trench at Gallipoli. The way Turkish youth commemorate […]

Featured

Macron and Trump talk new Iran Deal, but is it Pie in the Sky?

Juan Cole

Gilles Paris and Marc Semo at Le Monde report on President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to President Trump in Washington and their discussions regarding the Iran deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). They say that Macron repeated his four points regarding Iran policy: 1. Maintain the 2015 Iran deal, which freezes the Iranian […]

Israel/ Palestine

Palestine takes Israel to UN Racism Commission for Apartheid Policies

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian diplomats have filed an official complaint against Israel, alleging breaches of Israel’s obligations of the United Nations’ anti-racism treaty. The 350-page document was handed to the Geneva office of the United Nations that is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention. Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Khraishi accused […]

Qatar

Dubai-based Company Hired Iraq War Black Ops Exec to Smear Qatar in Film

contributors

By Jessica Purkiss and Abigail Fielding-Smith | (The Bureau of Investigative Journalism) | – – This story was published in partnership with The Daily Beast. Their version can be found here. The former CEO of Bell Pottinger USA was given over $500,000 to produce a six-part film linking Qatar with global terrorism A veteran of […]

Yemen

Dozens killed in Saudi-led air raid on Yemen wedding: medics

contributors

Sanaa (AFP) – Dozens were killed and wounded in an air raid on a wedding party in Yemen, local officials said Monday, with Huthi rebels blaming a Saudi-led military coalition. The Iran-backed rebels who control most of northern Yemen blamed Sunday’s attack on the Arab coalition that backs the country’s government, in the latest in […]

Foreign Policy

Are US Middle East Policies against the Law?

Ali Abootalebi

The American foreign policy in the Middle East since the demise of the Soviet Union has oscillated between neoliberal and neoconservative interventionism. Both strategies have had long-term detrimental consequences for the United States’ national interest and the peoples in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Fundamentally, both strategies ignore the welfare of the […]