Middle East

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Reuters is reporting that some 22 Russian special operations forces have set up a base in Western Egypt near the Libyan border in preparation for an intervention in Libya. Other recent reports have suggested that Russian mercenaries have been active in eastern Libya. The Russian government […]

Arab World

New Scientific Evidence that Middle East may become Uninhabitable

contributors

By Baher Kamal | (Inter Press Service) | – – ROME (IPS) – New evidence is deepening scientific fears, advanced few years ago, that the Middle East and North Africa risk becoming uninhabitable in a few decades, as accessible fresh water has fallen by two-thirds over the past 40 years. The water table is falling […]

Israel/ Palestine

Banksy hotel opens in Bethlehem, eliciting heated reactions by Palestinians

contributors

By Jaclynn Ashly and Reem Alqam | (Ma’an News Agency) | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s infamous separation wall in the occupied West Bank, while cutting off Palestinians from their lands and religious sites, isolating communities, and eroding the livelihood of scores of Palestinians along its route, has become an unlikely breeding ground for […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Under Trump, More Coalition Strikes on Yemen in a Week than in a Year under Obama

contributors

TeleSur | – – More drone and airstrikes have rained on Yemen in the past week than in any year of Barack Obama’s administration, with dozens of U.S. coalition airstrikes hitting schools, hospitals, markets and private homes. The strikes have reportedly targeted Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, yet also killed civilians, including at […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli forces detain Palestinian writer over new novel

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained Palestinian writer Khalida Ghusheh on Saturday morning after raiding her home in the neighborhood of Beit Hanina in occupied East Jerusalem. Ghusheh’s manager, Amani Abd al-Karim, said that Israeli police had raided Ghusheh’s home, before detaining her and transporting her to a police […]

Donald Trump

Do Syria’s Kurds hold the Key to the future of the Middle East?

contributors

By Clemens Hoffmann and Can Cemgil | (The Conversation) | – – The Trump administration’s plans for the war against the so-called Islamic State (IS) are at last becoming clear. And it seems his still-young government has chosen which ally to put first: the Syrian Kurds. On February 24, the US’s top commander in the […]

Authoritarianism

Turkey’s Erdogan trolls Germany with “Fascist” Charge

contributors

By Joel Schalit | EURACTIV | – – Normally, the accusation is reversed. Erdogan undoubtedly knew that when he accused Germany on Sunday of “fascist actions” typical of the Nazi era, for cancelling rallies to drive support for an April referendum granting himself broad new powers. Yet, the significance of reversing the hackneyed War on […]

Featured

Syria: As 400 more Troops go in, What’s Trump’s Mission?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The US had about 500 troops embedded with the People’s Protection Units (Kurdish acronym YPG) until this week, when another 400 were deployed, along with heavy artillery. It is rumored in the Arabic press that yet more troops, perhaps as many as 2000, will soon be […]

Israel/ Palestine

Only the Israeli dead matter: Israel’s failure at investigating its bloody wars

contributors

By: Ramzy Baroud | (Ma’an News Agency) | – – At a glance, Israel appears a true democracy. Take a closer look, and that facade of democracy will soon dissipate, turning into something else entirely. Tuesday, Feb. 28 was one of those moments. The chain of events was as follows: An official Israeli State Comptroller […]