Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – In his “60 Minutes” interview on Sunday President Obama made some remarks on Syria, but do they add up to a policy? Obama said: 1. He is giving up on a Pentagon plan to train thousands of “moderate” Syrian fighters to take on Daesh (ISIS, ISIL). […]

Iraq

The Mideast’s New Cold War: Why Russia won’t Defeat Iraq’s Extremists

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Since the announcement of a new military alliance including Russia, locals have been trading arguments. Could Iraq become the stage for a new “Cold War”? And how effective can this coalition really be? For many Iraqis, the news that came last week of an alliance […]

Featured

In final Failure for Bush/Cheney, many in Iraq seek Russian Alliance

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The Iraqi government in Baghdad, threatened by Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) and frustrated by the Obama administration’s foot-dragging in taking it on, seems increasingly tempted by a Russia alliance. Leaders of the Iraqi Shiite militias visited Moscow this week to seek Russian airstrikes against Daesh, according to […]

Bashar al-Assad

As Russia Strikes, Arab Twitter Wars over call for Jihad against “occupation” of Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Russian plans hit 20 targets in Syria on Tuesday according to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. Among them were a training camp for terrorists in the countryside around the city of Idlib, and another facility in the outskirts of the port city of Latakia. The […]

Iraq

Aided by Climate Change, ISIL wages Water war on Shiites of south Iraq

contributors

By Raad Salem | (Niqash.org) | Amarah | – – “Droughts, extremists’ control of water upstream and government austerity measures that are shutting pumping stations: Iraq’s already-precarious, but precious, marshes and wetlands are in danger – again.” The buffaloes that Jabbar Hassan farms moved too slowly across the marshland. They looked tired and too thin; […]

Bashar al-Assad

Deal with Saudis? Why does the US care if Russia bombs al-Qaeda and its Allies in Syria?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama on Friday pledged not to turn Syria into an arena for a proxy war between the US and the Russian Federation. But he went on to criticize president Vladimir Putin for attempting to prop up Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad and predicted that Syria under […]

Bashar al-Assad

Trump Supports Putin’s Russia Policy in Syria

contributors

Erin Burnett | (CNN news video) | – – “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks with CNN’s Erin Burnett on foreign policy issues including Iran, Syria and ISIS.” CNN: “Donald Trump: ‘Let Russia fight ISIS’”

Barack Obama

Why Obama and Putin are Both Wrong on Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama seemed awfully defensive in his speech at the United Nations on Monday. The reason is not far to seek. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has surprised Washington by volunteering to get militarily involved in Syria and by arguing that only by enlisting the Baath regime of […]

Counter-Terrorism

Disillusioned Daesh/ ISIL Fighters joined for ‘Adventure, Luxury & Saving Muslims’

contributors

By Sarah Marsden | (The Conversation) | – – They say disillusionment is the gap between expectation and reality. If the conclusions of a report just published by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence are anything to go by, it’s a gap that’s causing an increasing number of [so-called] Islamic […]