US Foreign Policy

By John Feffer | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – The Middle East is hardly a cheery place these days. But there’s one silver lining: The Iran deal is paying off big. In 1748, as part of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, France regained Cape Breton from Great Britain. The island, off the coast of […]

censorship

Triumph of Diplomacy: Iran, on cusp of Sanctions relief, releases 5 Iranian-American Detainees

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iranian news agencies announced Saturday that the government had released four dual nationals (Iranian-Americans with both passports). A fifth release was later reported. The release is another major diplomatic victory for President Obama and Sec. of State John Kerry, and is good news indeed for the […]

Militarization

5 Questions For Syria Hawks

contributors

David M. Faris | (Informed Comment) | – – Last month’s horrific attacks in Paris and last week’s massacre in California – which was at most loosely connected to Daesh (ISIS/ISIL)– have renewed calls for more robust U.S. intervention in Syria. The momentum toward escalation is hardly limited to the political right: Opinion polling suggests […]

Arms Sales

US Arms sales don’t Fight Terrorism & War, they Provoke Them

contributors

By Jeremy Ravinsky | (Foreign Policy in Focus) | – – Nothing recruits terrorists like corrupt security forces committing human rights abuses with impunity. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps / Flickr) Recent, disparate terrorist attacks have shown that far from being “degraded and destroyed,” the Islamic State’s reach is growing. Unwilling to commit large numbers of […]

Iraq

Is the US Suddenly entering a Major new War in Iraq & Syria?

contributors

Paul Rogers | ( OpenDemocracy) | – – The spreading influence of ISIS is forcing Washington into a strategic decision: escalate. Suddenly, and without almost anyone noticing, the war against ISIS in Syria and Iraq is developing and growing rapidly. Some elements are already clear enough: they include the expansion of ISIS-controlled territory in Libya, […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Obama: “Who will rid me of this Troublesome ‘caliph’? Someone? Anyone?

contributors

By Peter Van Buren | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – In the many strategies proposed to defeat the Islamic State (IS) by presidential candidates, policymakers, and media pundits alike across the American political spectrum, one common element stands out: someone else should really do it. The United States will send in planes, advisers, and special ops […]

Iraq

Senators McCain & Lindsay want to “Reoccupy” Iraq and Invade Syria: Should We?

Juan Cole

Guest post from Brian Glyn Williams on viable strategy to diminish terrorist attacks in the West.

Bashar al-Assad

Can France forge a grand alliance against ISIL that includes Putin & Obama?

contributors

Shelby Holliday | (WSJ Video Report) | – – “In the wake of the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande is traveling to Washington and Moscow to build support for a new “grand coalition” to defeat Islamic State. As WSJ’s Shelby Holliday reports, disagreement over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could stand in […]

Featured

‘Very Soon’ US forces will Arrive in Syria; Russia bombs near Turkey

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Turkey’s government is very unhappy today about developments in Syria. President Obama’s special envoy, Brett McGurk, said Sunday that the some 50 men from special operations forces will arrive in Syria in the very near future. But Turkey has been upset that the US troops will […]