US Foreign Policy

London (Informed Comment) – In the last fifteen years the United States has spent a total of between $4 trillion and $6 trillion on its twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, all the while running up its national debt, and damaging its international prestige. The root cause of these foreign entanglements, and America’s costly position […]

Bashar al-Assad

Is the Syrian Crisis Nearing the point where Diplomacy Can make a Difference?

contributors

Jo Comerford and Mattea Kramer | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Introduction by Tom Engelhardt : Whatever happened to the “imperial presidency”? In mid-September, in the midst of the serial collapse of a $500-million Pentagon program to train “moderate” Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State (ISIS), President Obama suddenly claimed, through White House Press […]

Featured

Syria: Will US arming of Kurdish-led Northeast Rebels Provoke Turkey?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The intrepid Anne Barnard and Karim Shoumali at the NYT have a piece on how Saudi-supplied TOW anti-tank weapons to rebels in Hama and Idlib are creating a US-Russian proxy struggle in northwest Syria (the CIA is actually the source of the weapons, with Saudi intelligence […]

Bashar al-Assad

Deal with Saudis? Why does the US care if Russia bombs al-Qaeda and its Allies in Syria?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama on Friday pledged not to turn Syria into an arena for a proxy war between the US and the Russian Federation. But he went on to criticize president Vladimir Putin for attempting to prop up Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad and predicted that Syria under […]

Bashar al-Assad

Trump Supports Putin’s Russia Policy in Syria

contributors

Erin Burnett | (CNN news video) | – – “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks with CNN’s Erin Burnett on foreign policy issues including Iran, Syria and ISIS.” CNN: “Donald Trump: ‘Let Russia fight ISIS’”

Afghanistan

The Final Collapse of Bush’s Nation-Building: Kunduz falls to Taliban

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – On Monday, the Taliban swept into the provincial capital of Kunduz, taking it in half a day from a large and well-equipped Afghan National Army force. Tuesday’s riposte had only mixed success, with the ANA saying it had taken back the (no-empty) prison. An attempt to […]

Saudi Arabia

US-Backed Bombing Campaign Strikes Yemeni Wedding Party, Killing Dozens

contributors

By Lauren McCauley, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – – Many women and children among the dead in ‘mistake’ attack Monday’s accidental attack on a Yemeni wedding party drew references to the United States’ December 2013 drone bombing of another wedding party in Yemen, which resulted in the death of the 15 people. (Photo: AFP) […]

Bashar al-Assad

Syria: Is Bashar al-Assad winning the Diplomatic War? Rebels Fret

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, widely regarded as a war criminal with tens of thousands of deaths on his hands, is nevertheless on a roll. Russia and Iran, the backers of al-Assad, are not eager to see him go. Russia is now putting in more troops and […]

al-Qaeda

US-trained Syria rebels gave weapons to al-Qaeda Pentagon confirms

contributors

RT | – – “The U.S. military has revealed that American -trained Syrian rebels surrendered equipment to an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group in exchange for safe passage. They handed over pick-up trucks and ammunition. A spokesman for the military described the move as “very concerning”. ” RT: “US-trained Syria rebels gave weapons to al-Nusra Islamists, […]