The political peddlers, think-tank experts and media professionals are all back in full force. They want us to believe that US Secretary of State John Kerry has done what others have failed to do. On his sixth trip to the Middle East during his post, and following...

Reports of security forces completely foiling two jailbreaks yesterday near Baghdad were premature. Clashes continued for at least 10 hours overnight as several hundred detainees apparently made their escape at one or both prisons. The two facilities are located just outside the capital in Taji and Abu Ghraib. The number of casualties rose overnight as well.

The rise of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) as an alternative to Bush era GOP dead-enders has the two principal anti-libertarian factions in American politics snarling and spitting in fury – and real fear. The progressives – in the drivers' seat at the moment – are...

Former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden should not throw any more stones, lest his own glass house be shattered. His barrage Friday against truth-teller Edward Snowden and London Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald invited a return rain of boulders for...

At least 25 Iraqis were killed and 28 more were wounded in the latest violence, which included two attempted jailbreaks just outside Baghdad.

For the first time in many months, supporters of intensified diplomatic engagement with Iran appear to be gaining strength here. Following last month’s surprise election of Hassan Rouhani – widely considered the most moderate of a field of six candidates –...

At least 88 Iraqis were killed and 242 were wounded in attacks that including coordinated bombings throughout the capital. Mosul also suffered violence, but it was unclear if those attacks were planned together.

A Wajihiya mosque was the scene of a significant attack that left over 100 people dead or injured today. Wajihiya itself, which is in restive Diyala province between Baquba and Muqdadiya, has witnessed a surge in violence this week, but no group has taken credit for it yet. Meanwhile, random attacks continued across the country. Overall, at least 57 people were killed and 106 more were wounded in them.

With arms tied down and feet shackled, Yasiin Bey writhes in anguish as a feeding tube is shoved into his right nostril. Groaning in extreme discomfort as his handlers push the tube deeper, Bey – better known as Mos Def – breaks into sobs as he begs for the...

The European Union has proposed new guidelines for how it will do business with the state of Israel that will require any Israeli entity seeking funding or cooperation from the E.U. to submit a declaration that it has no links to any of the occupied territories. Any...