Middle East

After Paris, There Is Some Room for Hope

After Paris, There Is Some Room for Hope After Paris, There Is Some Room for Hope

Good news and climate change are not normally associated with each other, but let’s give a tentative cheer for COP21.

Dec 14, 2015 / Michael T. Klare

An Afghan boy works at a construction site behind a US Army soldier in Logar province, Afghanistan.

Natural Resources Were Supposed to Make Afghanistan Rich. Here’s What’s Happening to Them. Natural Resources Were Supposed to Make Afghanistan Rich. Here’s What’s Happening to Them.

Traveling to Logar Province reveals unmanageable violence and co-optation by foreign companies.

Dec 14, 2015 / Feature / Antony Loewenstein

December 13, 2003: Saddam Hussein Is Captured

December 13, 2003: Saddam Hussein Is Captured December 13, 2003: Saddam Hussein Is Captured

“Neither the overthrow of the Baathist regime nor Saddam’s capture can erase the fact that Washington helped prop up Saddam for years.”

Dec 13, 2015 / Richard Kreitner

Washington to Whomever: Please Fight the Islamic State for Us

Washington to Whomever: Please Fight the Islamic State for Us Washington to Whomever: Please Fight the Islamic State for Us

Why the Gulf states, the Kurds, the Turks, the Sunnis, and the Shia won’t fight America’s war.

Dec 10, 2015 / Peter Van Buren

US NATO Ukraine

US and NATO Double Down on the Cold War Versus Russia US and NATO Double Down on the Cold War Versus Russia

In the aftermath of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks, Washington and Brussels still reject a coalition with Moscow against international terrorism.

Dec 9, 2015 / Stephen F. Cohen

Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk refugee camp

The Palestinians Fleeing Syria Are Among the Most Vulnerable Refugees The Palestinians Fleeing Syria Are Among the Most Vulnerable Refugees

Their special legal status leaves them stateless, even after decades of exile, and without the same rights as other refugees.

Dec 4, 2015 / Mai Abu Moghli and Nael Bitarie

Who’s Ready for the Next World War?

Who’s Ready for the Next World War? Who’s Ready for the Next World War?

Washington is convinced of the need for a broader military intervention in the Middle East, but that choice will mean a multi-generational, trillion-dollar war.

Dec 3, 2015 / Andrew J. Bacevich

Syria, the Rise of ISIS, and the Perils of Regime Change

Syria, the Rise of ISIS, and the Perils of Regime Change Syria, the Rise of ISIS, and the Perils of Regime Change

The American mania for regime change has led to one humanitarian catastrophe after another.

Dec 3, 2015 / James Carden

Bombing Hasn’t Worked. Bombing Won’t Work. And Yet, We Will Bomb

Bombing Hasn’t Worked. Bombing Won’t Work. And Yet, We Will Bomb Bombing Hasn’t Worked. Bombing Won’t Work. And Yet, We Will Bomb

The UK is grasping again for an old, failed tactic, thanks to the nationalist impulse to act fast after Paris.

Dec 3, 2015 / Column / Gary Younge

How to End the Eritrean Refugee Crisis

How to End the Eritrean Refugee Crisis How to End the Eritrean Refugee Crisis

For Tesfu Atsbha, head of the Eritrean Solidarity Movement for National Salvation, the only way is to depose dictator Isaias Afwerki.

Dec 2, 2015 / Mya Guarnieri

x