US politics

By Andrew Cockburn | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – These days, lamenting the apparently aimless character of Washington’s military operations in the Greater Middle East has become conventional wisdom among administration critics of every sort. Senator John McCain thunders that “this president has no strategy to successfully reverse the tide of slaughter and mayhem” in […]

Bill of Rights

Trump’s response to Orlando massacre proves just how dangerous he is

contributors

By Adam Quinn | (The Conversation) | – – Those who’ve been wondering when Donald Trump would switch from the wild bombast of his primary campaign to the sober mode traditionally demanded by a general election now have their answer: never. The dreadful gun massacre at the Pulse club in Orlando, Florida on June 12 […]

Arab Americans

Despite Terrorism fears, 59% of Americans Welcome Syrian, Iraqi Refugees

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | “American attitudes on refugees from the Middle East”: A Public Opinion Poll by Shibley Telhami is just out. Despite the raft of Republican mayors who have pledged to keep Syrian refugees out of their states (that isn’t actually a thing) and the sewage that has spilled from the […]

Featured

Obama: Hating on Muslim-Americans makes you an ally of ISIL, & Unamerican

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama is clearly concerned about the direction of the country and the mainstreaming of anti-Muslim hate speech, especially in the context of impossible-to-prevent lone wolf attacks like that at Orlando. He launched his fiercest attack yet on Donald Trump and warned of a repeat of […]

Gay Rights

Three LGBTQ Muslims offer their thoughts on the Orlando shooting and dismiss right-wing attempts to Appropriate their cause.

contributors

AJ+ | (Video News Report) | – – “Three LGBTQ Muslims offer their thoughts on the Orlando shooting and dismiss right-wing attempts to pay lip service to their cause.” AJ+: “Gay And Queer Muslims Dismiss GOP Attempts To Woo Them After #Orlando”

Anti-War Movement

Should President Obama have Apologized to the Victims of Hiroshima?

contributors

Vicente Medina | (Informed Comment) | – – While President Obama did not formally apologize for the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japanese civilians at the end of WWII, by visiting Hiroshima one might speculate that he had tacitly apologized to the Japanese people for our past wrongdoings. But even if one were to […]

Featured

Top 7 ways to tell if Someone is lying about being a ‘Salafi Jihadi’

contributors

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Regulars at Pulse Nightclub are saying that Omar Mateen, the alleged shooter in the early Sunday morning massacre there, was himself a regular! The Orlando Sentinel writes, “‘Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would […]

Domestic Terrorism

Omar Mateen and Rightwing Homophobia: Hate Crime or Domestic Terrorism?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – US law enforcement is at least initially categorizing the horrific Orlando shootings as “domestic terrorism.” I don’t think it probably was terrorism in any useful sense of the term. I used to know what domestic terrorism was, before the term became politicized in the past decade. […]

Democratic Party

‘Security Moms’: A Constituency for Hillary Clinton’s Hawkish Foreign Policy?

contributors

by Dinesh Sharma | (The Conversation) | – – Both conservatives and progressives have argued Hillary Rodham Clinton is more “hawkish” than President Obama. Robert Gates, the secretary of defense under both Presidents Bush and Obama, worked with her in the White House and called her “a tough lady.” Bruce Riedel, a South Asia expert […]