Terrorism

(By Mustafa Habib, Baghdad) It is estimated that around 250 car bombs exploded in Baghdad last year. This year the numbers are climbing and bombers’ skills are improving. This is taking a heavy toll on ordinary Iraqis. More locals are suffering from stress disorders and living in fear. Hospital morgues are crowded and some families […]

Arab Spring

On eve of Revolution Anniversary, Cairo Shaken by deadly Bombings

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Two bombings shook the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Friday morning. The first was apparently a car bomb detonated at 5:30 am that targeted the Directorate of Security, leaving 4 dead and 51 wounded. Car bombs have been rare in Egypt but are common in Iraq and Syria, and it is a very […]

al-Qaeda

Gates worries Pakistan Violence blocks Polio Eradication, But is CIA Partly to Blame?

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has done an amazing job in targeting diseases for eradication, and the world is very close to getting rid of polio altogether, in part because the Gates in recent years have given their support to the effort, which began in 1988. Cases have fallen 99% since […]

Free Syrian Army

Taking on al-Qaeda: Syria’s Uprising within an Uprising

contributors

(By Rania Abouzeid) It was bound to happen, this uprising within an uprising against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a transnational ultraconservative Islamist group that ostensibly fights alongside Syria’s disparate rebel groups but more often intimidates, antagonises, or opposes most of them, including other conservative Islamists. Long brewing tensions between ISIS and […]

Iraq

The Iraqi Heroine who Took on al-Qaeda in Northern Iraq

contributors

(By Ahmad al-Sayegh) Locals in the northern province of Ninawa are worried that extremists fleeing conflict in Anbar are going to end up back in Mosul, a traditional base for them. As signs that this may well be happening grow, many are singing the praises of one woman who took up arms against the group. […]

al-Qaeda

Obama NSA Defense FAIL: The al-Mihdar Red Herring

Juan Cole

In his speech on the National Security Agency domestic surveillance program on Friday, Obama offered an explanation of its origins: “The program grew out of a desire to address a gap identified after 9/11. One of the 9/11 hijackers – Khalid al-Mihdhar – made a phone call from San Diego to a known al Qaeda […]

Pakistan

Pakistani Boy who Tackled, Thwarted School Bomber Honored

contributors

(By AFP) Pakistan honours teenage bomb hero with bravery award (via AFP) A Pakistani teenager who sacrificed his life to stop a suicide bomber, saving the lives of hundreds of students, has been honoured with the country’s highest award for bravery. Aitzaz Hassan, 15, a student in Hangu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province… ——– […]

Libya

Libya: The Dictatorship of the Militias

contributors

(By Imad Mesdoua) “Ansar Al-Sharia cleans the streets of Benghazi and conducts social work to further enhance its standing” Terrorism Security in Libya still remains an ephemeral prospect. The country is awash with guns and militias, numbered in the thousands. Since the collapse of the Gaddafi regime, successive transitional governments have consistently failed to impose […]

Christianity

Tripoli Residents Protest as 80,000 Rare Books in Lebanon Torched by Salafis

Juan Cole

(AFP) Angry Lebanese protest over attack on priest’s library (via AFP) Hundreds of Lebanese took to the streets of the northern city of Tripoli on Saturday to protest the torching of a decades-old library owned by a Greek Orthodox priest. The demonstrators held up banners that read “Tripoli, peaceful town” and “This is… —– […]