Middle East

By John V. Whitbeck After the breakdown in the six-day “pause” to permit negotiations on a long-term Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire and the resumption of Israel’s onslaught against the caged people of Gaza, concerned people everywhere are wondering how the conflicting demands of the two sides can possibly be reconciled. Each side feels a compelling need to […]

Barack Obama

Obama’s budding Cambodia Policy in Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Former British ambassador to the United States Sir Christoher Meyer is advocating that the US and Western Europe stop advocating the overthrow of the Baath regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and instead coordinate with it to move against the so-called “Islamic State,” which controls some predominantly Sunni Muslim desert towns on […]

Iran

Can You pass the Iran Quiz?

contributors

By Jeffrey Rudolph What can possibly justify the relentless U.S. political and economic aggression against Iran? It cannot be argued that Iran is an aggressive state that is dangerous to its neighbors, as facts do not support this claim. It cannot be relevant that Iran adheres to Islamic fundamentalism, has a flawed democracy and denies […]

Energy

Iraq: If Terrorists hit Southern Iraq oil fields, $5-$7 a gallon Gas?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Iraq’s former oil minister, Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum, warned on Thursday that the so-called “Islamic State” terrorist organization could hit the Iraqi oil fields in the south around Basra. Basra is deep in the Shiite south, so IS could not take the city of 2 million as it did largely Sunni Mosul. But […]

Arab Spring

Why has Egyptian Youth Activist, Punished by last 4 Presidents, gone on Hunger Strike?

contributors

AJ+ Egyptian activist Alaa Abdel Fattah was in prison when his son was born, and is now in prison as his father lies in the ICU. He’s fed up and is taking action. Who is this activist and why does the world care so much about him? AJ+ Meet The Activist Punished By Egypt’s Last […]

Barack Obama

Dear Hillary Clinton: When did not bombing Syria create Isis?

contributors

By Fariborz S Fatemi Hillary Clinton’s criticism of Barack Obama on Syria and the rise of Isis is wrong, and an exercise in selective memory. When did not bombing Syria create ISIS? In her interview with The Atlantic magazine, the former secretary of state fails to point out that the president wanted to bomb Syria […]

Featured

What do Iraq’s Sunni Arabs have in common with Ferguson, Mo. African-Americans?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole If prime minister-designate Haydar al-Abadi in Iraq is to hope to defeat the so-called “Islamic State” (actually a kind of mafia made up of serial murderers and marauders), he must find a way to re-incorporate Iraq’s Sunni Arabs into the government, which has been dominated by Shiite religious parties since 2005, partly […]

Democracy

How effective will Erdogan be as Turkey’s new President?

contributors

By Mustafa Gurbuz The future of Turkey depends not only on Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions but also strategies of the opposition parties, which have proven to be ineffective so far. Turkey’s first direct presidential election results were no surprise. But despite his success by a narrow margin of 51.8 %, Erdogan did not achieve the […]

African-Americans

Iran Hard Liners denounce US Human Rights Abuses in Ferguson, Mo.

contributors

By Golnaz Esfandiari via RFE/RL The unrest in the U.S. state of Missouri sparked by the fatal police shooting of a black teenager is being played up by Iranian hardliners, with several lawmakers calling on the Foreign Ministry to react and highlight what they describe as blatant human rights abuses in the United States. The […]