Middle East

By Michelle Bentley | (The Conversation) | – – The group known as Islamic State (IS) reportedly used a sulpur-mustard gas against US troops in Iraq. It was detected in a black oily substance found on a rocket fired at an American airbase in Qayyarah, south of the city of Mosul. None of the soldiers […]

Israel/ Palestine

Netanyahu: I hope Obama won’t seek to establish a Palestinian state

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he “hoped” US President Barack Obama would not seek to establish a Palestinian state at the United Nations on Saturday. In an interview aired on Israel’s Channel 2 on Saturday, Netanyahu was asked if Obama had promised him that […]

Featured

Number of US Troops in Iraq Heading toward 6,000

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US plans to send another 500 troops to Iraq to help with the massive Mosul campaign, which will involve the Iraqi army and its allies, the Kurdistan paramilitary Peshmerga, hard line Shiite militias, and Sunni Arab tribal levies. US troops will not engage in war-fighting […]

Saudi Arabia

Questioning US Arms Sales, impunity for Saudi Arabia

contributors

By Carlyn Meyer | (Informed Comment) | – – The bi-partisan failure to review the nature and benefit of the US-Saudi relationship has been a striking feature of US foreign policy for decades. Despite serious questions about the link between the intolerant Wahhabi form of Islam promoted by the kingdom and the rise of a […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel releases Jerusalem journalist after she served 6-months for Facebook post

contributors

By Ma’an News Agency | – – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities released Palestinian journalist Samah Dweik on Monday, after she served nearly six months in prison over charges of “incitement.” Family members and friends gathered awaited Dweik, 25, outside the gates of HaSharon prison where she was held, before taking her to her home […]

Colonialism

Colonial Slow Genocide: Palestinian Leader Abbas asks Britain for “Balfour” Apology

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Mahmoud Abbas, president of Palestine, is asking Britain for an apology for its having in 1917 issued the infamous “Balfour Declaration.” He won’t get one. The difference between the North Atlantic countries and the rest of the world is that the former are still committed to […]

Saudi Arabia

UN Calls Out Saudi Arabia for Killing Yemeni Women and Children

contributors

By TeleSur | – – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon demanded all parties fighting in Yemen “fully respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.” In a rare move, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called out Saudi Arabia on Thursday for airstrikes in Yemen that killed dozens of civilians, including women and children. On Wednesday the U.S.- and […]

Iraq

Iraq’s Growth Industry: Free-Lance Civilian Bomb Disposal

contributors

By Kamal al-Ayash | Ramadi | ( Niqash.org) | – – Locals are struggling to get rid of the explosive booby-traps the Islamic State left as they withdrew from Ramadi. For one group of daring locals, defusing the bombs has become a lucrative new job opportunity. In the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, it is […]

Featured

Why the Boeing & Airbus Sales to Iran are a Big Effing Deal

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the real power center for the American government, has issued licenses to Airbus and Boeing allowing them to sell commercial airliners to Iran. President Obama ordered the licenses, defying the Republican-controlled Congress, which doesn’t want […]