Democratic Party

By Juan Cole President Obama said Wednesday that he would seek Congressional authorization for his war on ISIL or the “Islamic State” Group in Iraq and Syria. This statement comes after months of his administration maintaining that the AUMF of 2001 was still sufficient to underpin this effort. (In fact, it referred to war on […]

Barack Obama

How a Republican Congress could Entangle the US further in the Middle East

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole The midterm elections in a president’s second term have historically been a time when the president’s party lost seats in both houses of Congress. Only a little over a third of the electorate typically votes in these elections, and they are disproportionately white, wealthy and elderly. In short, a different country voted […]

Civil Rights

Will growing gap between rich and poor influence midterm elections?

contributors

CCTV “In the United States, the gap between rich and poor is the highest it has been since 1928. This gap is painfully obvious in a state like Arkansas. CCTV America’s Sean Callebs visited Little Rock to speak to residents about their concerns as part of our ongoing series, Route 2014: The Road to the […]

Barack Obama

Nobel Peace Laureates to Obama: Bring use of torture into the light of day, Never to return

contributors

By Jon Queally via Commondreams.org Twelve Nobel Peace Prize laureates have written to President Barack Obama asking the US to close the dark chapter on torture once and for all. Twelve fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates have written an open letter to President Barack Obama, urging the 2009 recipient of the award to finally close […]

Barack Obama

Double-Edged Sword: Can US overcome its Feelings of Exceptionalism?

contributors

By David Bromwich via Tomdispatch.com The origins of the phrase “American exceptionalism” are not especially obscure. The French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville, observing this country in the 1830s, said that Americans seemed exceptional in valuing practical attainments almost to the exclusion of the arts and sciences. The Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, on hearing a report […]

Barack Obama

Iran Proposes Axis against ISIL to Iraqi PM Abadi as alternative to US Coalition

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole al-Zaman [The Times of Baghdad] reports that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has proposed to visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi an anti-ISIL axis including Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq that would be led by Iran, as an alternative to the US-led coalition proposed by President Barack Obama. In essence, this is the same […]

Barack Obama

Is Obama worse than Nixon on Harassing Journalists? Committee to Protect Journalists Petition

contributors

Electronic Frontier Foundation p>A free press has always been an essential part of any democracy. That’s why repressive governments insist on state control over media. That’s why the very first addition to the Constitution, the First Amendment, protects freedom of speech. And that’s why EFF is joining over 60 organizations supporting the Committee to Protect […]

Barack Obama

Drone Strikes as much an Obama Legacy as Health Care: John Oliver

contributors

John Oliver “The United States has launched a huge number of drone strikes under President Obama. It’s widely accepted and extremely terrifying” Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Drones (HBO)

Barack Obama

Pretext for US Syria Bombings?: No sign that Dread “Khorasan” Group even Exists

contributors

AJ+ Imran Khan “The Khorasan Group: The U.S. government insists it’s one of the biggest threats facing the country. But until a couple of weeks ago most people had never heard of it. We talk to Imran Khan, the Al Jazeera English correspondent in Baghdad, who has a theory about what is going on.” “> […]