US Foreign Policy

By Alfred W. McCoy | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – For even the greatest of empires, geography is often destiny. You wouldn’t know it in Washington, though. America’s political, national security, and foreign policy elites continue to ignore the basics of geopolitics that have shaped the fate of world empires for the past 500 years. Consequently, […]

Iraq

US view of Iraqi Army, before & after 2003 (Political Cartoon)

contributors

By Khalid Bendib | (Otherwords.org) | (Political Cartoon) Via Otherwords.org

Barack Obama

Adelson Tabloid slams Obama for Listening to ‘Court Jews’ in Questioning Israel’s Credibility

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – President Barack Obama gave an interview on Israeli television on Tuesday in which he said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s position on rejecting a Palestinian state as long as he is in power is damaging Israel’s credibility. Netanyahu tried to retract his campaign pledge after he won […]

Iran

If Iran Nuclear talks fail, Sanctions on Tehran Could Unravel

contributors

By Jasmin Ramsey | (Inter Press Service) | — WASHINGTON (IPS) – Internationally supported sanctions against Iran could begin to crumble if talks over Iran’s nuclear programme fail to produce a final deal, according to Germany’s envoy to the United States. “The alternatives to the diplomatic approach are not very attractive,” said Ambassador Peter Wittig […]

al-Qaeda

Did the US DIA see ISIL as a strategic Ally against al-Assad in 2012?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment)- The answer, in a word, is “no.” Fabius Maximus is right that this is just a clickbait story or an unfounded conspiracy theory. The Defense Intelligence Agency’s correct assessment of where things were going in Syria, done in 2012, doesn’t say that the US created sectarian groups and it […]

Bashar al-Assad

ISIL beheaded Dozens in Palmyra, but how Strategic is the City?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Nearly 500 people died in the campaign by Daesh (ISIL, ISIS) to take the Syrian city of Palmyra, including 49 who were executed before the fundamentalists reached the city center. On Thursday, they are alleged by the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights to have beheaded at least […]

Bush

2007: Progress Continues in Ramadi, Mullen Notes During Visit

contributors

Just to show Iraq’s ups and downs, here is a celebratory article from the US Department of Defense about the apparent rollback in Ramadi of al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia (the parent organization of Daesh/ ISIS/ ISIL) from 2007 DoD News By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service RAMADI, Iraq, Dec. 19, 2007 – Driving through downtown […]

Barack Obama

Was that a White House- Gulf Arab Summit or an Arms Bazaar?

contributors

By Thalif Deen | (Inter Press Service) | – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chats with Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia on Mar. 5, 2015, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before the two and their counterparts attended a meeting of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council. Credit: U.S. State Department/public domain UNITED NATIONS, May […]

Afghanistan

Why Obama is bucking Saudis, Israel on Iran: Deal would much Strengthen US Security

contributors

By Brian M Downing | (Informed Comment) | – The dialog between the US and Iran moves ahead, albeit haltingly. Opposition comes from important groups in both Tehran and Washington – as well as in a few Middle Eastern capitals. In Washington, the issue is decried as a sign of the administration’s naivety regarding world […]