Middle East

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) The Iraqi military and allied Shiite militias are mounting a campaign to take the largely Sunni town of Tikrit (original pop. 300,000), which is alleged to have been planned and is being directed by the Jerusalem (Quds) Brigade, the foreign special ops arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps […]

Central Intelligence Agency

Iran and America’s Memory Hole

contributors

By Dr. Arnold J. Oliver | (Informed Comment) Although Israeli Prime Minister Netenyahu in his speech to Congress painted Iran as a threat to peace, he left out important details concerning the relationship between Iran and the West. There is considerably more to the story. The uncomfortable fact is that, by any fair measure, Iran […]

Apartheid

Gaza Power Plant Closes Due to Lack of Fuel

contributors

By IMEMC News & Agencies The Gaza Strip’s sole power plant was shut down, Wednesday evening, as Qatari-donated fuel supplies finally ran out, a Gaza power authority said. “The power plant stopped producing electricity during the night, after funds from Qatari donations to cover fuel costs ran out,” the Gaza authority said. “We are unable […]

Featured

Syria: As al-Qaeda defeats ‘moderate’ US allies, will US ally with al-Qaeda?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – President Obama’s impossibly complicated plan for dealing with ISIL involves a de facto alliance with Iran in Iraq, and training up a ‘third force,’ essentially creating a new, ‘moderate’ Free Syrian Army to attack al-Qaeda and ISIL. Training an effective new fighting force will likely take 15 years, […]

Iraq

IRAQ – Child soldiers forced into combat alongside ISIL Fighters

contributors

France24 | – “[So-called] ISLAMIC STATE – In Iraq, little boys are sent to the frontlines. Seen by the Islamic State group as devil worshipers, and not even fit to convert to Islam, the Yezidi community has been the target of Jihadis for many months: hundreds of them have kidnapped, tortured and killed, and young […]

Iran

US Gen.: Iran’s Role In Iraq’s Fight Against Islamic State Might be Positive

contributors

By Frud Bezhan | (RFE/RL) The Iraqi government has launched an offensive against Islamic State militants (IS) in the northern city of Tikrit, but Iran appears to be leading the charge. The Islamic republic has officially downplayed its role in the fight against IS in Iraq, saying its involvement was limited to training Iraqi Shi'ite […]

Featured

Iran Reformers – Talks will Succeed: Netanyahu ‘not Influential,’ like Iran Hardliners

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – How did Iranian politicians react to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s anti-Iran speech to the US Congress? Iran’s first woman vice president, who has the Environment portfolio, Masoumeh Ebtekar, is in Paris these days and she spoke with AFP about the Netanyahu address. “I don’t think,” she said, […]

Bashar al-Assad

Climate Change helped Provoke Syrian Conflict & it won’t be the Last

contributors

By Thalif Deen | – UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – Was the four-year-old military conflict in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, mostly civilians, triggered at least in part by climate change? A new study by Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory says “a record drought that ravaged Syria in 2006-2010 was likely […]

Israel

Israel’s Squatter Settlements on Palestinian Land Undermine its Security

contributors

Bill Van Esveld | (Human Rights Watch) – Israel’s prime minister has set the agenda for his visit to Washington, DC: the impact on Israel’s security of the Obama administration’s approach to Iran’s nuclear program. Disagreements over Iran may dominate the headlines, but Democrats and Republicans who are concerned about Israel’s security should realize that […]