US Foreign Policy

By Nan Levinson ( Tomdispatch.com ) – After more than 20 years of losing wars, recruiting for the U.S. Army is now officially a mess. Last year, that service fell short of its goal by 15,000 recruits, or a quarter of its target. Despite reports of better numbers in the first months of this year, Army […]

US Foreign Policy

Will it Never Stop? From Forever War to Eternal War

Karen J. Greenberg

( Tomdispatch.com ) – “It is time,” President Biden announced in April 2021, “to end the forever war” that started with the invasion of Afghanistan soon after the tragic terror attacks on this country on September 11, 2001. Indeed, that August, amid chaos and disaster, the president did finally pull the last remaining U.S. forces […]

Afghanistan

The Decline and Fall of Republican Afghanistan (Review)

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Ahmad Shuja Jamal and William Maley, The Decline and Fall of Republican Afghanistan (London: Hurst and Co., 2023). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment) – The Republic of Afghanistan unraveled quickly after May 2021 when US-led foreign troops prepared to abandon the country. This defied the forecasts of most experts on the capacity […]

Nonviolence

The Tragic U.S. Choice to Prioritize War Over Peacemaking

Medea Benjamin and Nicholas J.S. Davies

( Code Pink ) – In a brilliant Op-Ed published in the New York Times, the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi explained how China, with help from Iraq, was able to mediate and resolve the deeply-rooted conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, whereas the United States was in no position to do so after siding with […]

Russia

The War of Surprises in Ukraine: Could there be one Surprise too Many?

Rajan Menon

( Tomdispatch.com) – Some wars acquire names that stick. The Lancaster and York clans fought the War of the Roses from 1455-1485 to claim the British throne. The Hundred Years’ War pitted England against France from 1337-1453. In the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648, many European countries clashed, while Britain and France waged the Seven Years’ […]

China

As Longterm Partnership with US Fades, Saudi Arabia deals with China, Iran and Russia, too

The Conversation

By Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University | – (The Conversation) – The fact that Saudi Arabia entered a rapprochement deal with Iran and chose China to broker it came as a surprise to many international observers. The agreement, officially called the Joint Trilateral Statement, was signed in Beijing on March 11 and begins the process […]

Featured

Why are We There? Biden Bombs Syria, after Drone Kills US Contractor, wounds 5 US Military Personnel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden ordered air strikes on Thursday (Friday in Syria) against militiamen in the Harabish neighborhood just outside the city of Deir az-Zor, who are suspected of having launched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone against an American base in northeast Syria. The metro area of Deir az-Zor […]

Israel Lobbies

For the first time in US History, Sympathy for Palestinians has overtaken Sympathy for Israelis among Democrats

Middle East Monitor

US sympathy for Palestinians at unprecedented level as Israel’s image is hit ( Middle East Monitor ) – For the first time in US history, sympathy for Palestinians has overtaken sympathy for Israelis among Democrats, according to the latest Gallup poll. Nearly half of Democrats — 49 per cent — have greater sympathy for Palestinians […]

China

Juan Cole: The Meaning of Historic China-Brokered Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Iran (Robert Scheer Interview)

Juan Cole

Transcript of Interview from Scheerpost , where you can also find the audio if you want to listen to the interview. Host: Robert Scheer | Producer: Joshua Scheer | – Transcript Robert Scheer: Hi, this is Robert Scheer with another edition of Scheer Intelligence, where the intelligence comes from my guests and someone I’ve had […]