ISIS only survives in the long-run (at least in Syria and Iraq) to the extent that it's able to continue taking advantage of Sunni alienation and anger at the governments in Baghdad and Damascus. Their leadership is well aware of that, which is why on Monday they did this: At least 32 people were killed … Continue reading This is what provocation looks like

Today's suicide bombing near the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district, an attack that killed at least 10 people and injured another 15, was likely perpetrated by ISIS, though nobody has directly claimed responsibility. Nobody ever directly claimed responsibility for last year's attacks in Diyarbakır, Suruç, and Ankara either, but ISIS was probably/certainly behind … Continue reading Turkey is at war with ISIS, whether it wants to admit it or not

Suki Kim is an investigative journalist who has done some incredible reporting out of and about North Korea, some of the best/only real reporting anybody outside of North Korea has ever read. She actually spent six months living in North Korea ostensibly teaching English to the sons of the regime's elite, but in reality taking … Continue reading How does something like this get published?

In case you hadn't heard, notorious Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán, "El Chapo," was captured on Friday by Mexican authorities and Sean Penn, or something like that. Guzmán is wanted for so many things that it would probably take less time to figure out what he hasn't done, including two different escapes from Mexican prisons … Continue reading Rubio v. Rubio: Duh of Justice

I'm a little the worse for wear today, so posting may be light. Luckily, this makes for a timely rerun, what with Iran's decision last week to ban (or re-ban) Iranians from making pilgrimages to Mecca. This is getting a lot of attention, much more than Iran's ban on performing Umrah got last April, no … Continue reading The Iran-Saudi pilgrimage dispute has historical precedent

The UN World Food Program and the International Red Cross/Red Crescent are preparing in the next day or so to deliver about a month's worth of food and other humanitarian supplies to the people of the Syrian town of Madaya, which has been besieged by Syrian government forces since July and hasn't received any outside … Continue reading As close to hell as you can get

This is another one of those "welcome to 2016" pieces, but less snarky, because this really is a story that bears watching for the next few weeks and that could go in a number of directions. Iran is holding two elections on February 26: for the Majles (parliament) and for the Assembly of Experts. Both … Continue reading 2016 is going to be a big year in Iranian politics

So North Korea tested...something, maybe a hydrogen bomb although there's reason to be skeptical about that, but something nuclear, on Wednesday, and Republican candidates are lining up to unload on President Obama and Hillary Clinton over it. Which, hey, it's an election year, this is what happens. But when the talk turns to what any … Continue reading Heavy on criticism, light on solutions