Middle East

By Charles Recknagel | ( RFE/ RL ) | – – Three weeks after the start of Russia’s bombing campaign, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a surprise visit to Moscow. Here is what makes the October 20 meeting significant. First The Bombing, Now The Diplomacy Russia has been […]

Iran

Could Nuclear Deal hand power to Reformists inside Iran?

contributors

By Farhang Jahanpour | (Inter Press Service) | – – OXFORD, Oct 19 2015 (IPS) – As in most countries, in Iran too there are hardliners and moderates. All polls show that a large majority of Iranians support the nuclear deal (or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA) between Iran and the P5+1 (the United […]

Featured

The Aleppo Strategy against Daesh/ ISIL: Can it Work?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Washington Post was the first to broach the issue of Russo-Iranian grand strategy in Syria. It turns out that an Iraqi Shiite militia leader Bashar al-Sa`id, told WaPo that he thinks the road to Mosul runs through Aleppo. I am always suspicious of the assertion […]

Israel/ Palestine

The war of information in Israel and Palestine

contributors

By: Megan Hanna | (Ma’an News Agency) | – – Recent headlines by Western news outlets, such as the BBC, CNN and The Telegraph, in the coverage of the recent spate of violence currently unfolding in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have tended to focus on the Israeli victims of the unrest. On the […]

Investment

Investing in Iran after Deal? Be careful of doing business with the Revolutionary Guards

contributors

By Mohammad M. Hedayati-Kakhki | (The Conversation) | – – The merest hint of a successful deal over Iran’s nuclear programme is enough to get people excited. And as the country emerges from economic isolation, nowhere is the enthusiasm more keenly felt than in the huge oil firms with a chance to make a splash […]

Archaeology

Brutal Bombing of Yemen risks Destroying its Cultural Heritage along with Civilian Lives

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Beirut) – Parties to Yemen’s armed conflict should take all necessary measures to protect Sanaa’s Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. International humanitarian law provides special protections to buildings and other structures that are part of humanity’s cultural heritage. Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, has been controlled for the past […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel’s crackdown on protesters is illegal, costly and reckless

contributors

By Julie M. Norman | (The Conversation) | – – The escalation of violence in Israel-Palestine since the start of October has led to seven Israelis killed by Palestinians in a spate of stabbing attacks and at least 30 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, including three 13-year old Palestinians killed in separate demonstrations by live […]

al-Qaeda

American Hypocrisy: Against Muslim Sharia law at home, Calls it “Moderate” in Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – I just watched the 5 pm news hour on CNN anchored by Wolf Blitzer, and the editors had clearly decided that the lead was that Russian bombing in south Aleppo risks creating a new wave of refugees. They also stuck to the cover story that the […]

China

The new Chinese Century? Can a Green China with no Mideast Entanglements Surpass US?

Neil Thompson

London (Informed Comment) – In the last fifteen years the United States has spent a total of between $4 trillion and $6 trillion on its twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, all the while running up its national debt, and damaging its international prestige. The root cause of these foreign entanglements, and America’s costly position […]