Month

Archives: Arab World

Trump blasts Iran for backing Syria, ignores Russia, Praises Saudis

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Trump more or less threatened to wipe out the 25 million people of North Korea in his speech at the UN. Then he…

Iraq Supreme Court strikes down Kurdistan referendum, Clashes in Kirkuk

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Iraqi Supreme Court has ordered that the referendum on independence planned for September 25 be halted. The problem is that the Iraqi…

Tunisia: A Gender Equality Manifesto

Manifesto of the Under-Signed | Tunisia | - - During the 61st anniversary commemorating the enactment of the Personal Status Code, the Tunisian Head of State Beji Caïd Essebsi made two announcements…

Given Fundamentalist impact on Syria, Women’s Freedoms in Doubt

By Manal Ismael | ( Global Voices Online ) | - - In early September 2017, a piece of paper with a potent message targeted against women, held by a group of…

Saudi-led Airstrikes on Yemen Deadly for Children

Human Rights Watch | - - UN Should Create International Inquiry, Return Coalition to ‘List of Shame’ (Beirut) – The Saudi-led coalition carried out five apparently unlawful airstrikes in Yemen since June…

London Covered but 83 Iraqis killed in ISIL attack largely ignored by US TV News

TeleSur | - - Security officials say that the attacks are an attempt by the terrorist group to project strength after losing their strongholds in Iraq. The so-called Islamic State group carried…

Russia rebuffs Israeli demand for 40 mi. Buffer with Iran in Syria (Haaretz)

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - According to Haaretz Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked Vldadimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, to keep Iranian troops and Hizbullah militiamen…

Can Iran keep its Influence in Baghdad?

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Iran wants to reunite the fighting Shiite Muslim political parties in Iraq that once gave it unconditional support. But that job is far…

Saudi Arabia wants to improve Image; Here’s How

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Saudi Arabia is alleged to be hiring a PR firm to improve its tattered image in the West . As usual, such a…

Will Iraqi Kurdish Independence Referendum Further Roil the Middle East?

By Ali R. Abootalebi | (Informed Comment) | - - The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President in June 2017 announced September 25 as the day for a referendum on independence from…

As ISIL dwindles, Iraq fears extremists fleeing Syria

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Iraqi forces are upset about the safe passage granted to Islamic State fighters from Syria. They will enter Iraq, where, locals say, thousands…

Have we Won yet? Was ISIL a flash in the Pan?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - With the Iraqi campaign against ISIL having wrested from it Mosul and Talafar, and with Hawija and Qaim really the last two areas…

Syria’s Heritage, and the World’s, that the War Destroyed–From Palmyra to Castles

Written by Alreem Kamal | ( GlobalVoices.org) | - - Syria's story is one that has been weaved through families from one millennium to the next. Subjugated as a Roman province under…

Are Muslims allowed to be Sympathetic Victims in US Media, or only Perpetrators?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Libyan activist Hend Amry makes an important point about the relative lack of interest of television news in stories such as the persecution…

Arabs, Thomas Friedman and the “iron fist”

By Brian Whitaker | ( Al-Bab.com) Writing about conflicts in the Middle East for the New York Times yesterday, columnist Thomas Friedman talked of "the power that is lost to a society…

The Criminals who amplified Harvey: Trump & Cabinet must Resign

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The whole Trump administration should resign in shame, since they have lied to the American people about the disaster of burning fossil fuels.…

20,000 Civilians Trapped besieged ISIL capital: “The Worst Place on Earth”

20,000 Civilians Trapped in besieged ISIL capital: “The Worst Place on Earth”

By Roshni Majumdar | (Inter Press Service) | - - UNITED NATIONS, Aug 28 2017 (IPS) - The battle to reclaim Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State of Iraq…

Is Israel’s Netanyahu preparing for War on Iranian Special Ops in Syria?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu filled the ear of visiting UN secretary general Antonio Guterres with complaints about Iran and Hizbullah on the…

Iraq: Trump slams Iran, but Iran-backed Militias are key to taking Talafar from ISIL

by Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Shiite popular mobilization units (Iran-backed militias) have played a key role in taking of the northern city of Talafar from ISIL. The ninth…

Mosul Youth rescue Books and Music in wake of ISIL Defeat

Special Correspondent | Mosul | (Niqash.org) | - - Two projects in Mouls show a different side to the devastated northern Iraqi city, as younger people there celebrate the end of the…