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Archives: June 2014

Barzani:  Kurdish Rule To Stay In Kirkuk

Barzani: Kurdish Rule To Stay In Kirkuk

Via RFE/RL Iraqi Kurdish leader Masud Barzani has said that there is no going back on autonomous Kurdish rule in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and other northern towns that Kurdish fighters…
FAA insists on Regulating Delivery Drones

FAA insists on Regulating Delivery Drones

Via Gas2 The FAA doesn’t think much of Jeff Bezos’ idea to deliver packages to Amazon.com customers using drones. Yesterday the agency issued a proposed ruling that defines such deliveries as part…
Is Russia Replacing US in Iraq?

Is Russia Replacing US in Iraq?

By Juan Cole Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday told BBC Arabic that he was buying used fighter jets from the Russian Federation and from Belorussia. He said it had been…
Iraq Crisis: It’s the Oil, Stupid!

Iraq Crisis: It’s the Oil, Stupid!

By Michael Schwartz via Tomdispatch Events in Iraq are headline news everywhere, and once again, there is no mention of the issue that underlies much of the violence: control of Iraqi oil.…
Religion and the Fight over Public Space in Egypt

Religion and the Fight over Public Space in Egypt

By Marwa Fikry Abdel Samei | Cairo (Special to Informed Comment) “Have you pronounced blessings on the Prophet today?” These words alarmed the Egyptian regime and impelled it to announce a war…
Obama Prepares for Drone War in Iraq

Obama Prepares for Drone War in Iraq

By Juan Cole President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he will send 300 Green Beret Army special operations soldiers to Iraq. They will be detailed to Iraqi National Army Headquarters and…
Torture:  What’s Race Got to do with It?

Torture: What’s Race Got to do with It?

By Rebecca Gordon June is Torture Awareness Month, so this seems like a good time to consider some difficult aspects of torture people in the United States might need to be aware…
Torturing for the Nation

Torturing for the Nation

By Ariel Dorfman via Tomdispatch.com According to an Amnesty International Poll released in May, 45% of Americans believe that torture is “sometimes necessary and acceptable” in order to “gain information that may protect…
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Fracking Threatens US Water: AP

US Water Woes Add Punch To AP Fracking Report (via Clean Technica) The Associated Press has been doing a bang-up job of covering fracking issues lately, and over the weekend they released…
7 Myths about the Radical Sunni Advance in Iraq

7 Myths about the Radical Sunni Advance in Iraq

By Juan Cole Already in the past week and a half, many assertions are becoming commonplace in the inside-the-Beltway echo chamber about Iraq's current crisis that are poorly grounded in knowledge of…
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Can Egypt face up to its sexual assault problem?

Egypt may finally face its sexual assault problem (via GlobalPost) At first, the blurry video of a celebration in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, captured by an onlooker’s cellphone, is difficult to make out.…

Foreign nationals struggle to send money home

By Libya Herald staff. Tripoli, 14 June 2014: Money transfer companies are reportedly operating reduced hours, leaving many foreign nationals working in Libya struggling to send money home to their families. “Some…
Dear America: You’re in the Army Now

Dear America: You’re in the Army Now

By William J. Astore I spent four college years in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and then served 20 years in the U.S. Air Force.  In the military, especially in basic…