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Something about hope Since coming to office in August, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has done everything to spell out the profound difference between his administration and the previous one. No, Iran is still not a liberal democracy, but what we are witnessing today is an amazing journey of a struggling country with barriers, obstacles, and […]

Iran

Iran’s Rouhani: Not Seeking the Bomb, Willing to show Flexibility

Juan Cole

Ann Curry of NBC News gets a scoop, with an interview with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, in which he restates Iran’s position that it is not seeking, and will never seek, a nuclear weapon. He said that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had recently stressed ‘heroic flexibility.’ US economic sanctions are severely affecting the Iranian […]

Syria

UN Report Conclusive Sarin used on wide Scale, Points to Syrian Regime

Juan Cole

When reports of a chemical weapons attack in Rif Dimashq near Damascus on August 21 first surfaced, some observers questioned whether these were really chemical weapons. Others questioned whether the force that deployed them, if that was what they were, was the Syrian army. T The UN-commissioned Sellstrom report on the August 21 chemical weapons […]

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44 yearly Murders by Firearms in Britain [220 equiv.] vs. 8,583 in US; US Navy now Menaced

Juan Cole

Aaron Alexis carried out the mass murder of 13 people at the Navy Yard with an AR-15 assault rifle and a shotgun. AR-15 Bushmasters are semi-automatic weapons that can fire many rounds per minute and can be bought at retail stores such as Walmart or at gun shows in southern states from private individuals without […]

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Summers withdraws from Fed consideration; Won’t be Rewarded for Beggaring Us All

Juan Cole

Economist Larry Summers withdrew his name from consideration for chairman of the Federal Reserve last night, even though he had been increasingly considered the favorite for the job in the White House (not so much in the Senate). It is a great mystery why Barack Obama even considered rewarding Summers for his role in increasing […]

Energy

Neil Young: Alberta Tar Sands fields ‘Look like Hiroshima’ (Chamberlain)

Juan Cole

Jacob Chamberlain writes at Commondreams.org Fresh off a trip to Canada's tar sands oil fields in Alberta, famed singer Neil Young spoke out at a conference in Washington, DC on Monday against the controversial oil extraction and its export through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, calling Fort McMurray, the town nearest Alberta's vast tar sands, […]

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Syrian opposition may attack Israel with chemical weapons, Asad tells Russian TV

Juan Cole

The USG Open Source Center translates an article from Russia’s Rossiya 24 TV containing quotes from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad alleging that Syrian rebels might surreptitiously use poison gas against Israel and blame it on the regime in order to provoke an American attack on Syria’s government. This is not a plausible theory. Syrian opposition […]

Syria

If Obama goes Back to Congress on Syria, they must save America by voting No (van Buren)

Juan Cole

Peter Van Buren writes at Tomdispatch.com Once again, we find ourselves at the day after 9/11, and this time America stands alone. Alone not only in our abandonment even by our closest ally, Great Britain, but in facing a crossroads no less significant than the one we woke up to on September 12, 2001. The past 12 […]

Syria

Top Ten things Americans need to Know about Syria if they’re going to Threaten to Bomb It

Juan Cole

Ambrose Bierce is said to be the author of the saying “War is God’s way of teaching Americans geography.” Despite the vigorous national debate about intervening in Syria, there is some reason to think that most Americans could not find it on a map. Here are some key points about Syria that this blog has […]