Ballot Box or Revolt: The Choice Facing Brotherhood
JUAN COLE: The Muslim Brotherhood faces a choice. If they go one route it could lead Egypt into a period of profound and long-lasting devastation
Wasted Opportunities: Brotherhood Is ‘Egypt’s Tea Party’
JUAN COLE: President Morsi has no one to blame but himself. By imposing a ‘Brotherisation’ of Egyptian politics he has forced the opposition onto the streets.
‘Domestic Issue Deflection?’ Morsi’s Call for Syrian Action
JUAN COLE: President Morsi’s called for a no-fly zone over Syria. He is, though, facing a raft of serious issues at home
Clinton Tries To Set Up Obama As ‘Patsy to The Hawks’
JUAN COLE: Bill Clinton has criticised President Obama for not providing stronger military support for the Syrian opposition. His own record on military intervention isn’t so good.
Syria Is A Microcosm of All The Issues Facing Region
GREGORY HARMS, INFORMED COMMENT: The conflict in Syria contains all of the elements that have made the Middle East a bubbling pot for the last century
New U.S. Terrorism Map: It’s Only 500 Years Out of Date
CHARLES KURZMAN, INFORMED COMMENT: If the lead agency in combatting terror against the U.S designates the whole Islamic world as the source of terror what hope is there?
‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ in Obama’s Terror Speech
JUAN COLE: Some praise is due but Obama remains wedded to the idea that extra-judicial assassination is an effective counter-terror tool.
The Great Benghazi Forgery: So Who’s Really Behind It?
JUAN COLE: There was a sustained attempt prior to the last U.S election to portray Barack Obama first as a latter day Jimmy Carter then as a Richard Nixon figure. Who did this?
Islamophobia is ‘Competition Racism’: A Clear Road to Fascism
ANNE-RUTH WERTHEIM, INFORMED COMMENT: It’s very important to identify and call out racism but it’s equally important to understand what forces underpin it.
The Rise and Rise of Solar Power: Everyone’s Getting It
JUAN COLE: The precipitous fall in the cost of generating solar power has resulted in traditionally oil-dependent nations such as Saudi Arabia investing heavily in it for domestic power production.
Brotherhood’s Battle With Judiciary: ‘A Matter of Revenge’
JUAN COLE: The Muslim Brotherhood’s history with the Egyptian judiciary is defining how they are working, or not, with them today.
Obama Telephones Putin: Regional Implications of Boston
JUAN COLE: It’s clear that reverberations from the Boston bombings will spread to Chechnya and beyond. How will it impact the U.S view of Syria?
Kafka Visits Cairo: Bassem Youssef’s Interrogation
JUAN COLE: ‘Explain what you meant by this punchline’. Yes, the surreal became real for Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef this week.
‘Join Us, Israel’: A Radical Proposal for Arab League
JUAN COLE: Throwing money at Palestine is no substitute for diplomacy so here’s a radical idea to bring Israel to the negotiating table
10 Ways the Iraq Conflict has Diminished America
As the tenth anniversary of the launching of the Iraq War approaches, I’ll be making some comments about the episode on Informed Comment, which for the years 2003-2010 intensively covered events in Iraq. A decade is long enough for some things to become clear.
The first set of issues I want to discuss has to do with the harm the war did to the United States. Coming into 2003, the US enjoyed a great deal of sympathy and solidarity from the rest of the world (including Iran) over the al-Qaeda strikes of September 11, 2001. In the aftermath of […]
Women: Pope and Muslim Brotherhood ‘Share Views’
The selection of the new pope was carried out by a conclave of elderly men, and the only candidates were men. The new pope is a staunch social conservative who opposes women’s ordination as priests and women’s right to control their own bodies and limit family size, key issues for women’s health and well-being. It is no wonder that the church hierarchy is so tone deaf on women’s issues, since its highest counsels are all-male.
JUAN COLE: Patriarchal religion takes a remarkably similar view of the position of women in society.
The Sequester: Israel Moves to Protect its ‘Aid’
JUAN COLE: Since Israel is a middle-income country with a nominal per capita income higher than Spain or South Korea, it is mysterious why the US taxpayer should outright give it so much money every year…
The Problem With ‘Argo’: An Orientalist Viewpoint
JUAN COLE: The Iranian ‘baddies’ come from a very old school of stock Middle Eastern characters. Wouldn’t it have been a good idea to show why they were angry?
Class Issues ‘At The Heart’ of Tunisian Conflict
JUAN COLE: The assassination of Chokri Belaid has brought tens of thousands Tunisians onto the streets.
Of Life and Creation: The Artists of Palestine Speak
LAYLA QURAN, INFORMED COMMENT: Last Summer I travelled with my father to Palestine to interview leading artists, poets and musicians.
