Uncategorized

By Erin Evers, HRW Shia militias, still operating under the control of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, are laying siege to Latifiyya, especially the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq militia. Failure to address the broader effects of international assistance in Iraq’s fight promises to further polarize Iraq’s communities. The spectacular conquests by the Islamic State have held […]

Barack Obama

Why Obama underestimated ISIL in Syria and Iraq

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole President Obama admitted on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday that the US had underestimated the military potential of ISIL. Obama understands that a generational struggle is going on in the Middle East, but some of his comments in the interview seemed to me to show insufficient appreciation for the true nature of […]

Iraq

Can Iraq Convince its Sunnis to Fight Extremists?

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad via Niqash.org Local opposition to Sunni Muslim extremists in control of parts of Iraq is building – and it’s being formalised with the creation of a new National Guard, with military units enlisting locals to protect their own provinces. As well as fighting the extremists, the new units could include […]

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 […]

Dissent

The Israeli version of Steven Salaita: Occupation University fires Professor for Insufficient Zionism

contributors

By Amir Hetsroni This is how I became the Israeli version of Steven Salaita: I was teaching at Ariel University when administrators summoned me to a pre-dismissal disciplinary hearings claiming that my views on religion (too atheist), welfare (overly capitalist), gender (not enough feminist) and Zionism (not Zionist and willing to withdraw from practically all […]

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 […]

Israel

Gaza and Israel: Serial “Ceasefires” and the 70-Year War Continues (Chomsky)

contributors

By Noam Chomsky On August 26th, Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) both accepted a ceasefire agreement after a 50-day Israeli assault on Gaza that left 2,100 Palestinians dead and vast landscapes of destruction behind. The agreement calls for an end to military action by both Israel and Hamas, as well as an easing of […]

Colonialism

In 1948, Jewish Forces in Palestine outnumbered Palestinian and Arab Fighters

contributors

By William R. Polk The General Assembly had issued its verdict [in late 1947 suggesting a partition of Palestine] but it left open the question of how to actually carry out the resolution when no UN-controlled military or police forces were available. Britain’s 84,000 troops were leaving. And they had proved insufficient to maintain law […]