Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

By Amalendu Misra | (the Conversation) | – – Every religious community, at some point in its history, has harboured a vision of the apocalypse. It reminds us that the world periodically goes through tumultuous socio-religious strife, agonising chaos and unbearable anarchy. Hence Christians refer to an Antichrist in the context of an irredeemable age. […]

Poll: Muslims actually HATE ISIL/ Daesh

contributors

Ana Kasparian, John Iadarola, Jimmy Dore & Francesca Fiorentini | (The Young Turks) | – – N. B. Charts courtesy Pew Research Center [N.B. 6% of Buddhists in Malaysia think well of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL), which either means they see it as anti-imperial or they just don’t know what it is. This statistic should provide […]

Featured

As French Pres. Hollande meets Putin, France considers alliance w/ Syrian Army

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – French President Francois Hollande met Thursday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow, in his marathon search for a “Grand and Unique Coalition” against Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) in Syria. One of the sticking points between France and the US on the one side and Russia […]

Iraq

Iraq: Eastern front against ISIL slowed by Internal Divisions, Unenthusiastic USAF

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | (Niqash.org) | – – Iraqi fighters in Anbar are waiting to push the Islamic State group out of cities like Ramadi. But they wonder when it will happen, if ever. Many believe that politics are why this particular victory must take so long. The tribal fighters of the central Iraqi province […]

Bashar al-Assad

Can France forge a grand alliance against ISIL that includes Putin & Obama?

contributors

Shelby Holliday | (WSJ Video Report) | – – “In the wake of the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande is traveling to Washington and Moscow to build support for a new “grand coalition” to defeat Islamic State. As WSJ’s Shelby Holliday reports, disagreement over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could stand in […]

Iraq

Pushing back against ISIL/ Daesh: How the Kurds Reclaimed Sinjar

contributors

VICE News | (Video report) | – – “Islamic State (IS) fighters swept into the Iraqi city of Sinjar in August 2014, forcing Kurdish peshmerga forces to retreat. The city, primarily made up of Yazidis, a religious minority with roots going back thousands of years in the region, was soon overran with IS militants. They […]

Featured

‘Very Soon’ US forces will Arrive in Syria; Russia bombs near Turkey

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey’s government is very unhappy today about developments in Syria. President Obama’s special envoy, Brett McGurk, said Sunday that the some 50 men from special operations forces will arrive in Syria in the very near future. But Turkey has been upset that the US troops will […]

Belgium

Paris Attackers: What radicalized one Brussels Neighborhood?

contributors

By Martin Conway | (The Conversation) | – – Just as during the German invasions of 1914 and 1940, war, it seems, is coming to France through Belgium. If one follows the logic of the statements of various French political leaders since the bloody attacks in Paris on November 13, Belgium has become the base […]

Counter-Terrorism

How to lose the war on terror: panic and feed ISIL’s narrative

contributors

By Daniel Baldino | (The Conversation) | – – Terrorism’s goal is principally psychological. So, in the wake of events like those in Paris, a good starting point is to refuse to take the bait and become victims to fear. Such a mindset must break away from simplistic notions such as that another round of […]