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The USG Open Source Center has done a report on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s calls for Iran and Saudi Arabia to cooperate in filling the regional power vacuum. The Saudis do not seem eager for such cooperation and in fact have incisively criticized Iran’s new role in the region. Iran: Ahmadinezhad Calls for Saudi Support […]

The USG Open Source Center translates an Iranian newspaper article on the combat capabilities of Iranian military forces. ‘Article Examines Combat Capabilities of Iranian Military ForcesArticle by Ali Ghafuri: “A Glance at the Combat Capabilities of the Iranian Army,” page 15Iran (Internet Version-WWW)Wednesday, October 3, 2007 Document Type: OSC Translated Text A Powerful Army, Messenger […]

At the Global Affairs blog, Philip Cunningham, who teaches at Dosisha University in Japan considers the ways in which W.’s Iraq debacle has weakened the ability of the US to play a positive role in the Burma / Myanmar crisis. Susie Madrak links to a real soldier who upbraids the chickenhawk Rush Limbaugh for calling […]

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s bigotted statement that there are no homosexuals in Iran derived from his rightwing religious commitments. What he said is very serious. He erased gays right out of existence. The ultimate in denying people their rights is to deny they even exist (the nonexistent obviously have no rights.) There could be a […]

Many thanks in advance to Karl Pohrt and his great independent bookstore Shaman Drum for this party. Shaman Drum Events CalendarAcademic Reception: Title: Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle EastAuthor: Juan ColeLocation: Shaman Drum Bookshop Time: Mon Oct 01, 4:00 PM In this vivid and timely history, Juan Cole tells the story of Napoleon’s invasion of […]

My column at Salon.com is online: Turning Ahmadinejad into public enemy No. 1: Demonizing the Iranian president and making his visit to New York seem controversial are all part of the neoconservative push for yet another war.” Excerpt: ‘Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly has become […]

The USG Open Source Center reports on the possible postponement of the referendum on the future of oil-rich Kirkuk province, which the Kurds want to annex to Kurdistan. Iraq: Kurdish Leaders Raise Possibility of Delay on Kirkuk ReferendumIraq — OSC ReportMonday, September 17, In the wake of the Kurdistan Parliament vote on 13 June reaffirming […]

Richard Drake, chair of the History Department at the University of Montana, describes what it is like to invite Stephen Walt, a respected political scientist at Harvard University and author of a best-selling book on the Israel lobby, to lecture on campus. The techniques of smearing and pressure politics deployed against his appearance can only […]