Unpopular: Trump’s low Polls one reason for Healthcare Defeat
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - For now, the second GOP attempt to…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - For now, the second GOP attempt to…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The intrepid Karen DeYoung and Ellen Nakashima…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey commemorated on…
Foreign Policy
What impact will Saudi-Qatar Struggle have on Palestinians?
By Israa Khater | ( OpenDemocracy.org ) | - - No conflict in the Middle East spares the Palestinians, and the recent crisis in the GCC is no exception. Following the escalation…Russia: Assault on Freedom of Expression
Human Rights Watch | - - Repressive Laws and Policies Restrict Online Speech, Stifle Critical Voices (Moscow) – Russia has introduced significant restrictions to online speech and invasive surveillance of online activity…Did UAE plant Fake News about Qatar to Fool Trump?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The intrepid Karen DeYoung and Ellen Nakashima report at WaPo that anonymous US intelligence officials have decided to go public with what they…Turkey’s Emboldened Opposition
By Sinan Ülgen | (Project Syndicate) | - - ISTANBUL – In Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has been working to centralize political power, opposition parties have lately had few…In Int’l Diplomacy, Does Trump know the Art of the Deal?
By John Feffer | ( Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - From North Korea to Russia to the Middle East, there's no shortage of deal-making needed. But beware the fine print…Is Trump Sign or Cause of US Imperial Meltdown?
By Alfred W. McCoy | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - The superhighway to disaster is already being paved. From Donald Trump’s first days in office, news of the damage to America’s…Turkey: Erdogan Marks Coup anniversary with more Crackdowns
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey commemorated on Saturday the anniversary of the failed coup in that country. The coup attempt was genuinely unpopular.…Human Rights Defenders Are Still Behind Bars in Turkey
By Zara Rahman | ( GlobalVoices.org) | - - Eight of Turkey's most respected human rights defenders were arrested last week, along with two information technology trainers from Sweden and Germany. All…Saudi Bloc: Qatar’s Al Jazeera can Stay, it Just has to Report as We Say
TeleSur | - - Al Jazeera said it rejects any “external intervention” and reiterates its “independence and professional editorial stance.” The four Arab countries currently boycotting Qatar are set to drop their…Who are the Trumps’ Russian Fixers? Meet Rinat Akhmetshin
By Mike Eckel | ( RFE/RL) | - - WASHINGTON -- As recently as last year, Rinat Akhmetshin could be seen regularly pedaling through downtown Washington, D.C., nattily dressed, with a pocket…Trump & Macron Consult on Syria Cease Fire in Shadow of Don Jr. Scandal
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - French President Emmanuel Macron and his American counterpart Donald J. Trump consulted on a number of bilateral issues on Wednesday, including cooperation in…Does Sunni Fragmentation after ISIL threaten Iraq’s Future?
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - As the date for a Baghdad summit on unity nears, the cracks are showing. It seems the country's Sunni politicians can’t even…What good is our Nat’l Security State if we’re afraid to Leave Home?
By William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - Has there ever been a nation as dedicated to preparing for doomsday as the United States? If that’s a thought that hasn’t…Arab Youth Bulge: Could this Generation Explode Again?
By IPS World Desk ROME/AMMAN (IPS) - More than ever before, the Arab region now registers an unprecedented youth population growth while facing huge challenges such as extremely high unemployment rates –more…The Real Victims of Trump-Putin Illiberalism: Women
By Gail Ukockis | (Informed Comment) | - - When I first read about the Russian government decriminalizing domestic violence recently, my first thought was: it can’t happen here. Then I realized…Novelist Arundhati Roy and her mission to inspire in the ‘Ministry of Utmost Happiness’
By Ali Kazimi | (The Conversation) | - - Anjula Gogia, the activist bookseller from Another Story Bookshop in Toronto, had patiently nudged me over a few weeks to introduce and host…New UN Report Documents Legacy of 10-year Siege in Gaza
By IMEMC News | - - Most of the projections for 2020, on the situation in the Gaza Strip, have deteriorated further and faster than anticipated in 2012, the United Nations said…Rolex “Caliph” of ISIL Dead: Syrian Observatory
TeleSur | - - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death has been widely speculated for months. Reports from the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, SOHR, claim that ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi…Top 5 Muslim-related Hypocrisies in the Donald Trump Jr. Russia Meeting
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The dishonesty and bad faith of Donald Trump's Muslim ban and general pose of hating Muslims is obvious to anyone who attends to…S. Africa ruling party will downgrade ties with Israel over Illegal Occupation
Ma'an News Agency | - - PRETORIA (Ma'an) -- The African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party of South Africa, voted on Tuesday in favor of downgrading South Africa’s diplomatic representation in…