Middle East

Flowers after shooting in Paris

Is It Wrong to Mourn Paris More Deeply Than Beirut? Is It Wrong to Mourn Paris More Deeply Than Beirut?

Paris was a wake-up call for Westerners—a reminder that we usually have the luxury to ignore the costs of war, even as our governments inflict them on foreigners.

Nov 16, 2015 / Jeanne Kay

To Defeat ISIS, We Must Call Both Western and Muslim Leaders to Account

To Defeat ISIS, We Must Call Both Western and Muslim Leaders to Account To Defeat ISIS, We Must Call Both Western and Muslim Leaders to Account

And that includes the Saudi kings whose funding of Wahhabi doctrine gave rise to the scourge of Islamic extremism.

Nov 15, 2015 / Laila Lalami

France Should Stop Listening to Saudi Arabia on Syria

France Should Stop Listening to Saudi Arabia on Syria France Should Stop Listening to Saudi Arabia on Syria

ISIS is the most urgent threat to the West stemming from the Syrian war and must be destroyed. Assad’s murderous dictatorship can be dealt with next.

Nov 15, 2015 / Juan Cole

Steven Salaita: I Will Always Condemn Injustice, No Matter the State of My Employment

Steven Salaita: I Will Always Condemn Injustice, No Matter the State of My Employment Steven Salaita: I Will Always Condemn Injustice, No Matter the State of My Employment

The embattled professor reflects on the trials of free speech, Zionism, and what it means to reach a settlement.

Nov 13, 2015 / Steven Salaita

How Much Does It Cost to Liberate a Country?

How Much Does It Cost to Liberate a Country? How Much Does It Cost to Liberate a Country?

American war-making in the Middle East has represented perhaps the least effective use of funds in the history of modern warfare.

Nov 12, 2015 / Tom Engelhardt

How Edward Snowden Changed Everything

How Edward Snowden Changed Everything How Edward Snowden Changed Everything

ACLU attorney Ben Wizner discusses the “Snowden effect” and why courts are taking privacy claims seriously now.

Nov 12, 2015 / Sagiv Galai and Tekendra Parmar

King Salman of Saudi Arabia addresses a summit of Arab and South American leaders in Riyadh.

The Saudis Are Stumbling. They May Take the Middle East with Them. The Saudis Are Stumbling. They May Take the Middle East with Them.

America’s leading Sunni ally is proving how easily hubris, delusion, and old-fashioned ineptitude can trump even bottomless wealth.

Nov 12, 2015 / Conn Hallinan

Washington Appears to Reject the Opportunity to End the New Cold War With Russia Washington Appears to Reject the Opportunity to End the New Cold War With Russia

The US is rejecting Putin’s proposal to cooperate against the terrorist Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, while escalating NATO’s “exercises” against Russia in Eastern Europe.

Nov 11, 2015 / Stephen F. Cohen

Dissent Breaks Out at the Center for American Progress Over Netanyahu’s Visit

Dissent Breaks Out at the Center for American Progress Over Netanyahu’s Visit Dissent Breaks Out at the Center for American Progress Over Netanyahu’s Visit

At a meeting Friday, about a dozen staffers objected to the liberal think tank’s invitation to the right-wing Israeli prime minister. Here’s what they said.

Nov 10, 2015 / Ali Gharib and Eli Clifton

President Obama meets with Vladimir Putin at the G8 Summit.

Obama Administration Officials Insist Russia Is to Blame for the Syrian Crisis Obama Administration Officials Insist Russia Is to Blame for the Syrian Crisis

Will it finally dawn on the American political establishment that the US and Russia are in this fight together?

Nov 9, 2015 / James Carden

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