Middle East

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, […]

Featured

Iraq’s Fallujah: Grand Ayatollah Sistani Calls on Shiite Forces to protect Civilians

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on Wednesday called on both regular Iraqi army forces and the popular mobilization units (Shiite militias) to avoid killing innocent noncombatants as they close in on Fallujah. An hour west of Baghdad and largely peopled by the Sunni Arab Dulaym tribe, Fallujah […]

Israel/ Palestine

Time to end the ‘hasbara’: Palestinian media and the search for a common story

contributors

By: Ramzy Baroud | (Ma’an News Agency) | – – Merely being in the company of hundreds of Palestinian journalists and other media professionals from all over the world has been an uplifting experience. For many years, Palestinian media has been on the defensive, unable to articulate a coherent message, torn between factions and desperately […]

Featured

US-Backed Kurds begin Campaign against ISIL in Northern Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The left-leaning Beirut daily al-Safir (The Ambassador) discusses the beginning of a new campaign by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in the northern half of al-Raqqa Province. The south of the province and its capital, also named al-Raqqa, are a base […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Why total Victory for Russia and Assad is a Pipedream: ISIL strikes in deep in Regime Territory

contributors

By Scott Lucas | (The Conversation) | – – Months after Russia spectacularly entered the Syrian conflict, [the so-called] Islamic State (IS) is still thumbing its nose at both Moscow and the Assad regime in murderous fashion. On May 23, the group detonated between seven and nine car and suicide bombs in the coastal cities […]

Alawites

ISIL hits Syrian Regime in Shiite northwest, killing 150

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The leftist Beirut daily al-Safir reports that security in Syria broke down dramatically on Monday, as seven bombs timed to go off simultaneously hit soft targets in the Syrian Mediterranean cities of Jebleh and Tartus, killing some 150 persons and wounding 225 , the vast majority […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel: Netanyahu reiterates opposition to French peace initiative

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Monday his rejection of a French initiative for an international peace conference to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stating once again that he would only consider “direct negotiations” with Palestinian leadership without Palestinian preconditions. “Peace just does not get achieved […]