Terrorism

By Charles Recknagel, RFE/RL The United States is putting together the first international coalition to try to roll back the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria. But when the nearly 40-state-strong alliance starts operations, it will find that there is already another coalition on the ground whose presence could complicate the U.S.-led effort […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Gulliver and the Lilliputians: It’s America’s Small Wars that are Unwinnable

contributors

By Tom Engelhardt It’s possible I’ve lived most of my life on the wrong planet — and if that sounds like the first sentence of a sci-fi novel maybe, in its own way, it is. I thought I knew where I was, of course, but looking back from our helter-skelter world of 2014, I wonder. […]

Iraq

Congressman Lloyd Doggett: Don’t be Stampeded into War

contributors

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) House Floor Speech September 16, 2014 The Middle Eastern tragedy, in which this resolution will further entangle America, is directly related to the wholly unnecessary Bush-Cheney invasion of Iraq. Having learned so little from the sacrifices of that conflict, the Congress now approves greater involvement in a Syrian civil war […]

Featured

Should US policy toward ISIL be Containment?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole The US launched air strikes on Tuesday on ISIL targets, south of Baghdad and also in the north. The ones south of Baghdad were in support of the Iraqi Army, for the first time since the ISIL crisis broke in early June. US close air support to the Iraqi army and the […]

Iraq

Turkey’s Caution on ISIL War: “It’s far away for them but very close to us”

contributors

By Ali Murat Yel, Editor-in-Chief TurkeyAgenda In the United States the public has difficulty in understanding the reluctance of Turkey to join the international coalition that is going to war in the heart of the Middle East. But the answer is simple: it is a matter of geography. I still remember Turkish people’s reaction against […]

Iraq

As Sunni MPs Plea for Precision US Strikes, Iraqi Gov’t Kills 31 in School Shelter

contributors

Human Rights Watch (Erbil) – The Iraqi government should promptly investigate an airstrike that hit a school housing displaced people near Tikrit on September 1, 2014. The attack killed at least 31 civilians, including 24 children, and wounded 41 others. According to three survivors, no fighters from the armed group Islamic State or other military […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

Remember Pres. Obama Saying ISIL Campaign like Yemen? Here’s Yemen

contributors

Middle East Eye: “Houthis take to the streets to mourn the protesters killed during a sit-in at a government ministry last week, as their pro-government rivals call for more state control of weapons.” Middle East Eye: “Fears of a new civil war in Yemen as negotiations continue”

Egypt

Arab Allies will wage Financial war on ISIL: Is it Enough?

contributors

By Charles Recknagel via RFE/RL As Washington vows to put together a broad coalition to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, the outlines of the new alliance are beginning to take shape. Much of the emphasis has been upon finding partners among the Arab states. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in […]

Iraq

War or Counterterrorism? John Kerry denies it is a War

contributors

By RFE/RL White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the United States is “at war with ISIL” on September 12, after Secretary of State John Kerry refused to use the phrase. “The United States is at war with ISIL in the same way that we are at war with Al-Qaeda and its Al-Qaeda affiliates all […]