Middle East

By James Miller | ( RFE/ RL ) The fight against extremists from the Islamic State (IS) militant group is heating up on two fronts. Since May 23, a coalition consisting of the Iraqi army and primarily Shi'ite militias, backed by U.S. air strikes, has advanced towards Fallujah, 40 kilometers west of Baghdad. There are […]

Featured

Modern Mongols: Sunni Arabs outraged at Iran role in Iraqi Gov’t Fallujah Campaign

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – BBC Monitoring surveyed the Arabic press on 27 May for the issue of the Iranian role in the Iraq government campaign to take Fallujah from Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). Although Saudi and other newspapers say they want to see Daesh defeated, they are deeply critical of the […]

Free Syrian Army

ISIL Advance Traps 165,000 Syrians at Closed Turkish Border

contributors

By Gerry Simpson | ( Human Rights Watch ) | – – There are two walls on the Turkey-Syria border. One is manned by Turkish border guards enforcing Turkey’s 15 month-old border closure who, according to witnesses, have at times shot at and assaulted Syrian asylum seekers as they try to reach safety in Turkey […]

Israel/ Palestine

After Obama in Hiroshima: Israel’s Gigantic Nuclear Elephant

contributors

TeleSur | – – The criminalization of truth when it comes to Israel’s nuclear capabilities means that its arsenal has been converted into a gigantic elephant in the room. The online version of a recent Economist magazine article comes equipped with the tantalizing headline “Israel’s atomic angst: A textile factory with a difference.” The summary […]

Democracy

Kurdish lawmakers Depart Baghdad: “Straighten up or We Won’t Be Back”

contributors

By Histyar Qader | Erbil | (Niqash.org) | – – After protestors invaded Baghdad’s Green Zone, Iraqi Kurdish politicians fled home. Despite the fact that their absence could paralyse Parliament, they say they won’t be back until certain conditions are met. After the first set of demonstrations during which protestors made it inside Baghdad’s highly […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel’s demolition orders against West Bank water wells ‘atrocious’: PM

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah gestures during an interview at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah on September 7, 2014 (AFP Photo/Abbas Momani) Ramallah (Ma’an) — Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah issued a statement Thursday condemning Israel’s illegal practice of destroying Palestinian water infrastructure as “atrocious.” […]

Featured

US Spec Ops Troops on Front Line in Syria with Leftist Kurdish Insignia: AFP

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Agence France Presse got the scoop on Thursday, with their reporters in Fatisa just 19 miles from Daesh territory in northern al-Raqqa Province, Syria saying they saw some 20 US special operations troops embedded with leftist Kurdish YPG units and wearing YPG insignia. (The latter move […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel of Accused of Whitewashing Soldiers’ Abuses

contributors

TeleSur | = = Human rights group B’Tselem said it will continue to document human rights violations carried out by Israel and to report on them. The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem announced it will no longer refer complaints of abuses carried out by Israeli soldiers to Israeli military courts because the system is a […]

Democracy

Iran’s Pres. Rouhani may have parliamentary backing, but can he remake Iran?

contributors

By Nader Habibi | (The Conversation) | – – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his policies are set to get a boost this week after voters elected a parliament that favors reform. While Rouhani’s reformists didn’t win a majority of seats, it appears likely that the “moderate” independents also elected will side with his faction, […]