Month: November 2016

Iraqi troops arrived in Tal Afar just as Shi’ite militiamen were about to attempt to capture it.

Although Iraq has kept the casualty numbers in Mosul a secret, sometimes those numbers are revealed.

Authorities discovered a new mass grave near Mosul, as Shi’ite pilgrims flocked to Karbala for Arbaeen.

The kudzu vine is one of the most invasive plants in existence: you cut it back, but that just emboldens it! You dig it up, but it keeps returning, stronger than ever. It is, in short, the horticultural equivalent of the neoconservatives, who have survived in spite of leading us over a cliff in Iraq, … Continue reading “Dear President Trump: Just Say No to the Neocons”

Just west of Baghdad, a groom was among the dead when a suicide bomber attacked a wedding party.

Sit down. This is going to shock you. (Not). We reported Monday on the telephone call between US president-elect Trump and Russian president Putin, where the current and future presidents discussed the need to set aside differences and look to more constructive future relations. With serious observers of this past year’s increasing tensions between US … Continue reading “McCain to Trump: Don’t You Dare Make Peace With Russia!”

When Hillary Clinton delivered a campaign post-mortem to her major supporters in a telephone conference call late last week, she blamed her loss in the presidential election on FBI Director James Comey. She should have blamed the loss on herself. Her refusal to safeguard state secrets while she was secretary of state and her failure … Continue reading “The Federal Bureau of Political Investigation”

As I was growing up, I was always reassured by the sound of the ‘Muadhin’ making the call for prayer in our refugee camp’s main mosque in Gaza. Whenever I heard the call very early in the morning, announcing in a melodic voice that the time for the ‘Fajr’ (dawn) prayer was upon us, I … Continue reading “Praying for Freedom: Why Is Israel Silencing the Call for Prayer in Jerusalem?”

Shelling on recently liberated neighborhoods of Mosul left numerous civilian casualties.

Originally posted at TomDispatch. “So is he going to win?” The question washed over me as I slumped in my hard plastic chair. I had passed the day walking through a town where most homes lay in ruins and human remains were strewn across a field, a day spent looking over my shoulder for soldiers … Continue reading “It Did Happen Here”