Terrorism

By Juan Cole US Secretary of State John Kerry’s meeting in Jedda with ten Middle Eastern foreign ministers produced a communique on Friday, but little more. The regional states promised to do more to stop the transit across their territory of volunteer vigilantes seeking to join the so-called “Islamic State” of Iraq and the Levant […]

Barack Obama

Russia denounces Obama Plan for Syria Air Strikes as Violation of Int’l Law

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Russia on Thursday pushed back against President Obama’s state plans for taking on the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) in Syria. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich remarked on television: “The US president has spoken directly about the possibility of strikes by the US armed forces […]

Counter-Terrorism

Obama’s ISIL Actions are Defensive, Despite Rhetoric of going on Offense

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole President Obama’s speech launching his war on ISIL avoided the qualifications that he had earlier made, which had produced caviling inside the Beltway from politicians who confuse careless belligerency with decisiveness. From a language of containing ISIL, he was forced to speak of degrading and destroying it. He went back and forth […]

Iraq

ISIL isn’t Medieval: Revolution, Terror and Statemaking are Modern

contributors

By Kevin McDonald, Middlesex University Over recent weeks there has been a constant background noise that Islamic State and its ideology are some sort of throwback to a distant past. It is often framed in language used last week by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, who claimed that ISIS is “medieval”. In fact, the […]

Free Syrian Army

ISIL Fighting With Weapons From US and 'Moderate' Syrian Rebels: Report

contributors

By Sarah Lazare via Commondreams.org The Islamic State (IS) is now in possession of lethal weapons formerly owned by so-called “moderate” Syrian rebels, as well as large quantities of arms produced in the United States, a new report (PDF) reveals The study — conducted by Conflict Armament Research, a research organization that tracks weapons proliferation […]

Barack Obama

3 Years War? Obama to Bomb Syria in fight against ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Juliet Eilperin and David Nakamura at WaPo report on a Monday evening dinner at the White House attended by foreign policy experts, in which President Obama expressed confidence that he had the authority to bomb ISIL positions in Syria. In other reports, Obama officials have leaked that they think this is a […]

Featured

“Obama to outline campaign against ISIS” (Juan Cole at Chris Hayes, “All In”)

Juan Cole

Juan Cole at MSNBC Juan Cole hosted by Chris Hayes, “All In”: “Obama to outline campaign against ISIS” ————- screenshot

Iraq

Are ISIL fighters Afraid of Women with Guns?

contributors

BBC “In Kurdish areas of northern Syria, fighters have been battling Islamic State – or ISIS – for two years – and unlike Iraq’s kurdish forces, they get no help from the west. Gabriel Gatehouse has been northern Syria to meet some of those taking on the jihadists.” ‘ISIS are afraid to see women with […]