Democratic Party

By Jared Mondschein | – Unlike most US presidents, Joe Biden did not come to the White House with many fixed ideological positions. He did, however, come with fixed values. Chief among them is understanding how US policies impact working American families. In his nearly half century of experience in and around Washington, Biden was […]

al-Qaeda

What will be the Mideast Crises facing Biden in the Coming Year? US Intelligence Threat Assessment

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community is out. It has a Middle East section and a report on Afghanistan in the South Asia section. Although the threat assessment aims at highlighting potential threats to the US and US interests, I am struck by how little their analysis […]

Afghanistan

As Biden Announces US will Leave Afghanistan, what Forces will Shape its Future?

The Conversation

By Catesby Holmes | – The United States will bring home its over 3,000 remaining soldiers in Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, delaying its planned withdrawal for five months in an effort to bolster faltering peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgent group. The new troop withdrawal date is symbolic, marking the 20th […]

Afghanistan

No, Biden ending the Afghanistan War isn’t a Disaster: The disaster was Dropping 7,400 Bombs on the Country Annually

Juan Cole

President Biden announced Tuesday that he will completely withdraw US troops from Afghanistan around September 1. This move will bring to an end America’s longest war, which still costs $50 billion a year. Imagine what that money could do for the US if it is invested in green energy and infrastructure. Worse, a lot of […]

Environmentalism

Young Indigenous organizers are taking the fight against oil pipelines to Biden

Waging Nonviolence

( Waging Nonviolence)- Hundreds of people rallied in front of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Washington, D.C. on April 1 to deliver 400,000 petition signatures calling on the Biden administration to stop a pair of major oil pipelines threatening Indigenous nations’ land and water. “We as Indigenous people are done being silenced,” […]

Human Rights

President Biden Needs a Middle East-Wide Human Rights Policy

Human Rights Watch

Published in: Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) By Iran Researcher Tara Sepehri Far | @sepehrifar @sepehrifar On the campaign trail and during his first three months in office, President Biden promised a US return to a multilateral foreign policy that supports human rights. That is an important vision for the Middle East, a […]

Featured

With Cyber-Attack on Iran’s Natanz Nuclear Enrichment Facility, is Israel’s Netanyahu trying to derail Biden talks and Escape Jail?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The BBC reports that a power outage and consequent explosion at the Natanz nuclear enrichment site in Iran on Sunday is being blamed by Iranian officials on sabotage. It reports that some Israeli outlets have speculated that the cause was an Israeli cyber-attack. The head of Iran’s nuclear energy program, […]

Climate Crisis

Greening Earth and creating Jobs, Biden to slash Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Extend Wind, Solar Credits

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Reuters reports that President Biden intends to slash tax subsidies for fossil fuels like coal and petroleum and to use taxes instead to encourage renewable energy. Since jobs in the coal industry are plummeting, and since job growth in renewable electricity is over 3 percent a year, Biden’s plans will […]

Featured

Iraq Announces end of US Combat Mission in Iraq, further reduction in 2,500 Troops now There

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Iraqi News Agency reports that Qasim al-Araji, Iraq’s National Security Adviser, said on Wednesday that his country had reached an agreement with Washington specifying that there would be no foreign military bases in Iraq. During a press conference alongside foreign minister Fuad Hussein, al-Araji added that the Biden administration […]