Pentagon

By By James Miller| ( RFE/RL ) | – – On June 29, 2014, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gave a speech from the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq, announcing the formation of an Islamic caliphate, the newly proclaimed [so-called] "Islamic State" did indeed have many of the hallmarks of an actual state. It […]

Featured

ISIL Endgame: Obama to send 250 more US Troops into Syria

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – President Obama is announcing Monday morning in Hanover, Germany, that he will send another 250 US troops, likely mostly special operations, into Syria, bringing the total to 300. The 50 troops already there are embedded with the YPG or People’s Defense Units of the leftist Democratic […]

Barack Obama

The Iraq War Never Ended: An Interview with Anand Gopal

contributors

By Charles Davis | ( TeleSur | – – The U.S. is at war with the same extremist group it claimed to have defeated five years ago, and it’s relying on sectarian extremists to "win" again. The United States is winning the war on terror, just as it always has. The Islamic State group is […]

CIA

Murdering Civilians: US Drone Whistleblowers Step Out of the Shadows

contributors

By Pratap Chatterjee | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – In a trio of recent action-packed movies, good guys watch terrorists mingling with innocent women and children via real-time video feeds from halfway across the world. A clock ticks and we, the audience, are let in on the secret that mayhem is going to break loose. After […]

Militarization

The Euphemisms of War and Covering up American Military Failure

contributors

By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Introduction | By Tom Engelhardt | – – At the moment, there are a maximum of 3,870 U.S. military personnel (or 7,740 actual boots on the ground) in Iraq supporting the war against the Islamic State. That’s the “official cap” imposed by the Obama administration, […]

Democratic Party

Is Hillary Clinton vulnerable to Trump over her 2002 vote for the Iraq War?

contributors

Tom F.A Watts | (The Conversation) | – – To the horror of almost everyone in mainstream US politics, it seems increasingly likely that by the close of the Republican National Convention in July, Donald Trump will have snatched the prize he has long coveted: the Republican presidential nomination. The party’s leadership is no longer […]

Bernie Sanders

Is Hillary Clinton responsible for rise of ISIL, as Bernie’s Campaign Manager Alleged?

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, alleged on Thursday that Hillary Clinton’s policies are responsible for the ‘rise and expansion of ISIS throughout the Middle East.’ His full statement on CNN: “I think if you look at her record and campaign, her campaign is funded by […]

Constitution

Unconstitutional: How the Imperial Presidents went to War all by themselves

contributors

By Andrew J. Bacevich| ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – Let’s face it: in times of war, the Constitution tends to take a beating. With the safety or survival of the nation said to be at risk, the basic law of the land — otherwise considered sacrosanct — becomes nonbinding, subject to being waived at […]

Iraq

Iraq: Shiite Militias issue threats against US Troops going to Iraq to fight Salafi ISIL

contributors

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | – – Recently US troops started fighting the [so-called] Islamic State in Iraq [ISIL], with ‘boots on the ground’. But is keeping a distance between the US and some old Shiite enemies hampering the fight? Or is it just good tactics? Iraqis found out that just about […]