Middle East

(By Juan Cole) Republicans like Marco Rubio are making hay of a Senate report on the Benghazi attack on a US consulate that left 4 Americans dead, including Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, on Sept. 11, 2012. The report doesn’t seem to me very good. Some of its positions are contradicted by solid reporting from […]

Egypt

The Great Urban-Rural Struggle over the Constitution in Egypt

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The tale of two constitutions, 2012 and 2014, in Egypt has to be seen in my view as significantly an urban-rural struggle. Neither referendum had a big turnout, but the one in 2012 only attracted 32.8% of the electorate, while apparently the turnout in the referendum just held was slightly higher at […]

Iran

American Public Pushes back against AIPAC Senators seeking Iran Conflict

contributors

(By Sarah Lazare) A congressional drive for new sanctions on Iran, backed by the lobbying muscle of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, is meeting growing push-back from a public that does not want another war. "We have an opportunity to stand up and say we're not going to support legislation that will only move […]

Arab Spring

How the Arab Spring Left the Palestinians Behind

contributors

(By Abdalhadi Alijla) Reading about the murder of Hassan Hassan, the Palestinian actor and comedian, in Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria was like a bombshell. Hassan and his wife were arrested by Syrian regime forces three months ago; his wife and son were released two days later. He was believed to be detained when recently […]

Israel/ Palestine

Messianic Israeli Minister obsessed with Palestinian Land accuses Kerry of Messianic Obsession

contributors

(By AFP) US slams Israeli defense minister attack on Kerry (via AFP) A senior US official on Tuesday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly disavow a complaint by Israel’s defense minister that John Kerry has a messianic “obsession” with Middle East peace. The official made the highly unusual demand… ——- Juan Cole […]

censorship

3 Years after Democratic Revolution, Egypt Decides it Prefers North Korean Model

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The title of this piece is provocative and a little tongue in cheek. Were I in Egypt as I publish it, I’m not sure, though, that the authorities would get the joke. The 2011 revolution, which was in part about dignity and personal autonomy and censorship and police torture, apparently went too […]

Iran

Dubai Calls for End to Iran Sanctions, Says no Nuclear Threat

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum of Dubai has called in a BBC interview for an end to economic sanctions on Iran if the civilian character of their nuclear enrichment program can be proved. He pointed out that the sanctions also inflict economic pain on the United Arab Emirates, a major financial center attempting to […]

political Islam

Turkey’s Fierce Battle on the Religious Right

contributors

(By Ayşe Soysal) … What is happening in Turkey now doesn’t feel like just a simple political disagreement, or even a war-game. It’s an all-out war, whose opening gambits have been politically damaging to both sides — the [Justice and Development Party or] AKP-led government and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and the secretive Islamic Gülen […]

Featured

False Nostalgia: The Original Fallujah Campaign Destabilized Iraq

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) We’ve been treated to a rash of articles about how US veterans of the Fallujah campaigns of 2004 are upset about the return of al-Qaeda to that city and the now dominant position of the extremists. Despite my respect for US soldiers who risked their lives, these veterans are making a political […]