US Foreign Policy

By Juan Cole Former British ambassador to the United States Sir Christoher Meyer is advocating that the US and Western Europe stop advocating the overthrow of the Baath regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and instead coordinate with it to move against the so-called “Islamic State,” which controls some predominantly Sunni Muslim desert towns on […]

Afghanistan

Families of Afghan Civilians Killed by US/NATO Cannot get Justice

contributors

By Bruce Pannier via RFE/RL Amnesty International has released a report documenting the inability of the families of Afghan civilians killed in attacks by U.S. and other foreign forces to obtain justice. The report, titled “Left In The Dark,” calls on the Afghan government to ensure that accountability for unlawful civilian killings is guaranteed in […]

Iraq

Iraq Intervention? More like Ceaseless Escalation

contributors

By Elliott Colla, author of Baghdad Central While visiting Baghdad last year, I was struck by what Iraqis said every time I tried to apologize for the 2003 invasion: “Don’t apologize for that. We needed an invasion to get rid of Saddam Hussein.” And then they would add, “But you do need to apologize for […]

Apartheid

Need for Tough Love: Defending the Gaza Assault Hurts Israeli, American Interests

contributors

By Gregory Harms Almost two-thirds of Americans feel Israel’s operations in Gaza were justified. When given sufficient information, and when thinking outside ideological parameters, Americans commonly draw reasonable conclusions and are in agreement by a two-thirds majority. In the case of the Gaza-Israel conflict, a knowledge deficit and ideology are to explain why the population […]

Apartheid

Blown Chances in Gaza Israel and the U.S. Miss Many Chances to Avoid War

contributors

By Sandy Tolan via Tomdispatch.com Alongside the toll of death and broken lives, perhaps the saddest reality of the latest Gaza war, like the Gaza wars before it, is how easy it would have been to avoid. For the last eight years, Israel and the U.S. had repeated opportunities to opt for a diplomatic solution […]

Featured

Iraq: Al-Abadi garners Iranian, US, Saudi Support: But can He Unite Iraq?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Middle Eastern regional powers joined the US in welcoming the appointment of Haydar al-Abadi as Iraq’s next Prime Minister, creating a dorm full of strange bedfellows. The chairman of Iran’s national security council, Ali Shamkhani, congratulated al-Abadi and said that Iran approved of the legal process whereby President Fuad Masoum appointed the […]

Africa

The US helped Break up the Sudan, and now South Sudan Faces Famine

contributors

By Nick Turse [This story was reported in partnership with the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute. Additional funding was provided through the generosity of Adelaide Gomer.] Juba, South Sudan — The soft glow of the dancing white lights is a dead giveaway. It’s Christmas in July at the U.S. Embassy compound. Behind high walls […]

Apartheid

Washington Condemns Israeli Shelling of UN School w/out Mentioning Israel

contributors

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — … [O]n Wednesday, another 16 people were killed when at least two Israeli tank shells slammed into a UN school in Jabaliya refugee camp in the north, in an attack angrily denounced by the UN chief and the world body’s agency for Palestinian refugees. The attack was also denounced by the White […]

Afghanistan

Weapons paid for by US are Missing in Afghanistan: Did they go to the Taliban?

contributors

By Luke Johnson via RFE/RL Weapons bought and paid for by the United States for Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have gone missing, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released on July 28. The Department of Defense has provided the ANSF with 747,000 weapons since 2004 for approximately $626 […]