US politics

( Code Pink ) – President Biden addressed the UN General on September 21 with a warning that the climate crisis is fast approaching a “point of no return,” and a promise that the United States would rally the world to action. “We will lead not just with the example of our power but, God […]

Afghanistan

If US Followed its own Safeguards, the Taliban and IS-K wouldn’t have captured so many US Weapons

The Conversation

By Nolan Fahrenkopf | – The weapons and military equipment left behind by the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, including through the collapse of the Afghan army, are now largely in the hands of the Taliban – and likely other militant groups as well. Though many politicians’ and observers’ reactions have been sensationalized, it does highlight […]

Donald Trump

The military stood up to Donald Trump. Who will now stand up to the military?

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus ) – When he was trying to win the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon famously told his chief of staff that he wanted Communist leaders—in the Soviet Union, in North Vietnam—to think that the U.S. president was a mad man, that he was capable of doing pretty much anything up to […]

Climate Crisis

At UN, Biden Pivots from 20-year War to Global Alliance against the Climate Emergency

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden addressed the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, laying out his vision of the global challenges facing the United States and the world. Biden, as expected, used his speech to announce a pivot by the United States away from its 20-year “war on […]

Arab World

As Biden prepares to declare US 20-year War over at U.N., Remembering the Bush Lies that Started it all

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak at the Associated Press report that President Biden in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly this year will seek to bring the curtain down on 20 years of American war, and will argue that instead the US will wage a multilateral campaign against […]

Afghanistan

Can We Finally Give Peace A Chance? The U.S. Military, Post-Afghanistan

William J. Astore

( Tomdispatch.com) – Yoda, the Jedi Master in the Star Wars films, once pointed out that the future is all too difficult to see and it’s hard to deny his insight. Yet I’d argue that, when it comes to the U.S. military and its wars, Yoda was just plain wrong. That part of the future […]

Afghanistan

US admits that Hellfire Strike on Kabul, killing 10, was a “Mistake” – But US often does not know Whom it is Droning

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Associated Press reports that the survivors of family members killed in a U.S. hellfire missile strike on a civilian vehicle after US troops and Afghan evacuees were killed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul are not satisfied with the apology issued by the U.S. military. They want compensation. […]

Afghanistan

The Trump Albatross around Joe Biden’s Neck

John Feffer

( Foreign Policy in Focus) – The far right would like to impeach Joe Biden, kick him out of the White House, perhaps even throw him in jail. “Lock him up” has been a predictable chant at Trump rallies going back to before the 2020 election. Even Republicans in Congress have joined this chorus. Bipartisanship? […]

Arab Americans

Habib Satire and Marvel Superheroes: Using Comedy to Combat Stereotyping of Arabs

The Conversation

By Safiyya Hosein | – As a researcher of Muslim superheroes, I’ve learned about the many ways Islamophobia manifests. Because Islam is racialized in the west, Arab Christians, Hindus and Sikhs have been implicated in Islamophobic political discourses, making them victims of Islamophobia. Many of these issues can be traced back to a strange convergence […]