Added on 05/07/2013
Juan Cole
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi , Egypt , Egyptian revolution , Freedom and Justice Party , Islam , Islam in Egypt , Islamism , Kuomintang , Mohamed Morsy , Muhammad Morsi , Muhammad Mursi , Muslim Brotherhood , officer , Politics , Politics of Egypt , President , Saad Katatni , Tamarrud Movement , War/Conflict

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
Added on 02/07/2013
Juan Cole
Arab world , Egypt , Egyptian revolution , Freedom and Justice Party , Islam in Egypt , Middle East , Mohamed Morsi , Mohamed Morsy , Muslim Brotherhood , Politics , Politics of Egypt , President

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.
Added on 18/06/2013
Juan Cole
Anti-Zionism , Asia , Hezbollah , Iran , Islam and antisemitism , Islamic terrorism , Israeli–Lebanese conflict , Lebanese nationalism , Middle East , Muhammad Morsi , Muslim Brotherhood , Politics , President , Shi'a–Sunni relations , Syria , War/Conflict , Yusuf al-Qaradawi

JUAN COLE: President Morsi’s called for a no-fly zone over Syria. He is, though, facing a raft of serious issues at home
Added on 15/06/2013
Juan Cole
Afghanistan , Algeria , Asia , Bill Clinton , Chemical weapons , Damascus , Foreign policy of the Bill Clinton administration , France , Hillary Rodham Clinton , Iran , Obama , Osama Bin Laden , Politics , Politics of Syria , Politics of the United States , President , Protests in Syria , Syria , Syrian uprising , United States , War in Afghanistan , War/Conflict

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.
Added on 04/06/2013
Juan Cole
Bashar al-Assad , Conflict , Middle East politics , Syria

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
Added on 02/06/2013
Juan Cole
Carolina Center , Chapel Hill , Charles Kurzman , co-director , Islam in the United States , Islamic terrorism , Middle East , North Carolina , Politics , Professor of Sociology , Social Issues , University of North Carolina

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?
Added on 24/05/2013
Juan Cole
Al Qaeda , Barack Obama , Barack Obama foreign policy , Central Intelligence Agency , Congress , Drone attacks in Pakistan , Government , Islam , Islamic terrorism , Islamism , Obama , Politics , President , United States , Unmanned aerial vehicle , US government , War in Afghanistan

JUAN COLE: Some praise is due but Obama remains wedded to the idea that extra-judicial assassination is an effective counter-terror tool.
Added on 18/05/2013
Juan Cole
Barack Obama , Benghazi , CBS NEWS INC. , Jimmy Carter , Politics , Republican Party , United States

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?
Added on 14/05/2013
Juan Cole
Islamophobia , Racism

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.
Added on 04/05/2013
Juan Cole
Alternative Energy , China , Electricity generation , Energy , Energy conversion , Environment , Germany , Low-carbon economy , Photovoltaics , Renewable energy , Solar cell , Solar energy , Solar panel , Solar power , Technology , Technology/Internet , United States

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.
Added on 30/04/2013
Juan Cole
Amr Moussa , Arab world , Egypt , Egyptian revolution , Hosni Mubarak , Islam in Egypt , Muhammad Morsi , Muslim Brotherhood , Politics of Egypt

JUAN COLE: The Muslim Brotherhood’s history with the Egyptian judiciary is defining how they are working, or not, with them today.
Added on 22/04/2013
Juan Cole
Al Qaeda , Al-Assad family , Asia , Assad family , Bashar al-Assad , Chechnya , Damascus , Hafez Al Assad , Middle East , Obama , Politics , President , Russia , Shabeeha , Syria , Syrian uprising , United States , Vladimir Putin , War/Conflict

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?
Added on 03/04/2013
Juan Cole
American Enterprise Institute , Bush Administration , Cheney , Counter-terrorism , Dick Cheney , Extraordinary rendition , Government , International relations , Jon Stewart , Politics , Politics of the United States , Waterboarding

JUAN COLE: ‘Explain what you meant by this punchline’. Yes, the surreal became real for Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef this week.
Added on 27/03/2013
Juan Cole
Arab citizens of Israel , Arab League , Arab–Israeli conflict , Israel , Israeli people , Israeli–Palestinian conflict , Israel–United States relations , Middle East , Palestinian Territories , Politics , Qatar , Shaikh Hamad al-Thani , Views on the Arab–Israeli conflict , War/Conflict

JUAN COLE: Throwing money at Palestine is no substitute for diplomacy so here’s a radical idea to bring Israel to the negotiating table
Added on 19/03/2013
Juan Cole
Bush Administration , Gulf War , high oil prices , Iraq , Iraq–United States relations , Occupation of Iraq , Rationale for the Iraq War , War on Terror

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 […]
Added on 15/03/2013
Juan Cole
Egypt , Egyptian revolution , Islam , Islam in Egypt , Muslim Brotherhood , Politics of Egypt , Religion , Religion/Belief , Sharia , Social Issues , Vladimir Putin

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.
Added on 05/03/2013
Juan Cole
Government of Israel , Israel , Israel Aid , Israeli Air Force , Israeli military , Politics , United States , War/Conflict

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…
Added on 27/02/2013
Juan Cole
Asia , Canadian embassy , Central Intelligence Agency , Iran , Iran–United States relations , Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , Politics , Propaganda in Iran , SAVAK , Shah Iranian , United States , US embassy

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?
Added on 10/02/2013
Juan Cole
Arab Spring , Middle East , Tunisia

JUAN COLE: The assassination of Chokri Belaid has brought tens of thousands Tunisians onto the streets.
Added on 02/02/2013
Juan Cole
Asia , Fertile Crescent , Ibrahim Bornat , Jerusalem , Layla Quran , Music of Palestine , Outline of the Palestinian territories , Palestinian art , Palestinian people , Palestinian Territories , Ramallah , United States , War/Conflict , West Bank

LAYLA QURAN, INFORMED COMMENT: Last Summer I travelled with my father to Palestine to interview leading artists, poets and musicians.