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Iraqi Leaders Denounce Trump over Oil, Jerusalem; US Troops in Political Crossfire

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Since his inauguration, Donald J. Trump has not been making a good impression in Iraq, where the US has 6,000 troops, according to…

Trump’s Visa Ban is about anti-Muslim Bigotry, not Security

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Reuters is reporting that on Wednesday, Trump will announce a halt to the issuing of visas to citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya,…

Trump to al-Sisi: Syria’s al-Assad is a Brave, steadfast Man (Beirut Report)

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - al-Diyar (The Lands) [Beirut] reports on what Egyptian officials allegedly leaked about the telephone conversation between Donald J. Trump and Egyptian president `Abdel…

Trump to CIA: We now have 2nd Chance to take Iraq’s Oil

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Donald Trump has had a contentious relationship with the US intelligence community, in part over their conviction that the Russian Federation attempted to…

All the terrible things Trump plans to do to Women (besides that one)

By Juan Cole | - - About 1 million women and their supporters demonstrated in Washington, D. C. on Saturday, but many millions more rallied in cities like New York, Chicago, Los…

Translating Trump’s inaugural Speech from the original German

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Donald Trump's inaugural speech, like the candidate himself, was a chain of falsehoods, saber-rattling and scary Neofascist uber-nationalism. But it could be difficult…

The Inauguration of White Supremacy

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Trump's cabinet has no Latinos, the first time that minority, which comprises 18 percent of Americans, is absent for twenty-five years. Trump famously…

All Dutch Electric Trains are Wind-Powered & other Advances Trump’s US will Miss out On

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Although Donald Trump has complained about America's failing airports, bridges and roads and expressed admiration for those of Dubai, his opposition to green…

Along with pardoning Manning, Obama should have repealed 1917 Espionage Act

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In a daring and bold move that showed his profound humanitarian side, President Obama has commuted the 35-year sentence of Chelsea Manning, a…

Trump feuds with Merkel, EU, BMW, NATO, China, CIA but not with Putin

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Donald Trump picked a fight with almost everyone but his buddy Vladimir Putin this weekend. His continued tweaking of China over its claims…

In the Age of Trumpian Reaction, is MLK’s Legacy to the 99% being Reversed?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Reaction has two main meanings in English. One is to respond to some new situation (not specifying the nature of the reaction). The…

5 Images that refute Trump’s attack on Hero John Lewis

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - It began when Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) announced that he would not attend the inaugural of Donald J. Trump because he did not…

From Syria to Sanctions, Flynn-Russia Quid Pro Quo?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The headlines about Trump and his team on the one hand and the Russian Federation on the other are coming fast and furious.…

All the President’s Deniers

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - This week, we've seen a parade of Donald J. Trump's far-right cabinet appointees attempting to tone themselves down (with help from pliant GOP…

Trump does Poor imitation of Tin-Pot Dictator at “Press Conference”

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In his first news conference in months, president-elect Donald J. Trump engaged in a series of petulant tirades. For anyone like myself, who…

For Russian hold on Trump, follow the Money, not the Sex tapes

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Buzzfeed has published the unverified allegations by a former MI6 analyst with good Russian contacts, contained in a two-page hitherto secret annex to…

Welcome to Psychopathocracy

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - We are now on the brink of a new form of government, undreamed of by Aristotle, who spoke of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy.…

Meryl Streep calls out Trump: Having Bully-in-Chief Coarsens whole Culture

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Occasionally entertainment and politics intersect, often hitting a false note. You never want your screenplay to be, as they say in Hollywood, "on…

US Media outraged by Russia, won’t Notice Israeli plot on UK Parliament

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment)- - Washington is obsessed by the story put out by US intelligence agencies that Russia tried to interfere in the US presidential election. But for reasons…

Those Times the NSA Hacked America’s Allies

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The hysteria about Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee servers and the phishing scam run on Hillary…