Terrorism

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The leader of al-Qaeda in Syria, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, has called for an escalation in attacks on the population centers of the Alawite Shiite minority. The president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and other leading members of the ruling Baath Party belong to this folk sect of […]

Afghanistan

Still underestimating al-Qaeda & Taliban despite 1500 Military Analysts

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – That figure stunned me. I found it in the 12th paragraph of a front-page New York Times story about “senior commanders” at U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) playing fast and loose with intelligence reports to give their air war against ISIS an unjustified sheen of success: […]

al-Qaeda

ISIL, al-Qaeda in Syria call for Holy War against Russia

contributors

By Joanna Paraszczuk | ( RFE/ RL Both the [so-called] Islamic State (IS) group and Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Al-Nusra Front, this week called for attacks against Russia, as Russian air strikes in Syria continue — though not against IS targets. IS broke two weeks of silence on the Russian air strikes in Syria on […]

Dissent

Ankara bombs: Turkey is being torn apart by bad leaders and bad neighbors

contributors

By Alpaslan Ozerdem | (The Conversation) | – – It had already been a deadly summer of political instability in Turkey. And now this. Another bloody massacre – this time at the hand of twin bomb attacks on a peace rally in Ankara, which have killed at least 97 people. It is the worst terror […]

Featured

Syria: Will US arming of Kurdish-led Northeast Rebels Provoke Turkey?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The intrepid Anne Barnard and Karim Shoumali at the NYT have a piece on how Saudi-supplied TOW anti-tank weapons to rebels in Hama and Idlib are creating a US-Russian proxy struggle in northwest Syria (the CIA is actually the source of the weapons, with Saudi intelligence […]

Featured

Does Obama have a Syria Strategy? Putin Does.

Juan Cole

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 […]

Israel

Israeli settlers carry out attacks in East Jerusalem, West Bank

contributors

Ma’an News Agency | – – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers on Saturday carried out a number of attacks on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, witnesses told Ma’an. In western Hebron, locals said that settlers attacked Palestinian homes near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arbaa. Settlers reportedly attacked the homes […]

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 […]