ISIS is in Libya. This has been known for some time, but either its foothold there is actually getting stronger or the important Something Doers of the world are just starting to figure out what's happening. Either way, we're starting to talk about whether or not it's time to Do Something: An international coalition is … Continue reading Libya braces for more international military assistance
Author: DWD
writer, blogger, lover, fighter
Today in Middle Eastern history: the Hama massacre begins (1982)
Like any major conflict, when it broke out in 2011 the civil war in Syria didn’t have one single cause and there was no One Simple Trick to preventing it. Some of its causes built on one another. For example, rising food prices caused in part by a severe Mediterranean heatwave/drought exacerbated Syria’s escalating socioeconomic … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: the Hama massacre begins (1982)
Forget it Jake, it’s the Iowa Caucus
I need your help to keep this blog going! Please read this and consider contributing something. Also, while you’re out there on the internet tubes, please consider liking this blog’s Facebook page and following me on Twitter! And please share my work with your friends/followers to help me grow the audience around here! Thank you! Here's … Continue reading Forget it Jake, it’s the Iowa Caucus
Today in Middle Eastern history: Khomeini returns from exile (1979)
One of the ironies of the modern Middle East is that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became the most popular person in Iran during a time when he wasn’t living there. After a career spent mostly as a non-political religious scholar (albeit one who was known within academic circles to be skeptical about anything that smacked of … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Khomeini returns from exile (1979)
Who was paying Alberto Nisman, and why were they paying him?
Remember Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who was pursuing an investigation related to the (allegedly Iranian-perpetrated) 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires and turned up dead in a case of alleged suicide? And how his investigation was focused on former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and so there were a … Continue reading Who was paying Alberto Nisman, and why were they paying him?
Progress in Geneva, terror back home
Al-Monitor's Laura Rozen has more on the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee's decision to reverse course, somewhat, and attend peace talks in Geneva after all. It appears that the HNC's delegation is there with a pretty narrow mandate: “We have come to Geneva to seek relief for our people by insisting UN Security Council resolution … Continue reading Progress in Geneva, terror back home
Today in European history: the Skirmish at Bendery (1713)
The “Skirmish at Bendery” (known in Swedish as the Kalabaliken i Bender, from the Turkish word kalabalık or “crowd”) is a relatively silly affair, but it shows that, even in 1713 when they were supposedly in “decline,” the Ottomans were still capable of the occasional muscle flexing in Europe. It’s the climax of a chapter in the 1700-1721 … Continue reading Today in European history: the Skirmish at Bendery (1713)
What a President Sanders might mean for the Middle East
Over at LobeLog I've got a new piece that looks at what I could find of Bernie Sanders's statements and record with respect to several core Middle East issues--Israel-Palestine, ISIS, Iran, etc. Sanders doesn't have much of a foreign policy record, so apart from Israel-Palestine I was going mostly on things he's said so far … Continue reading What a President Sanders might mean for the Middle East
Egypt may have a suspect in the Metrojet bombing
Despite their insistence that terrorism did not cause the crash of Metrojet 9268 last October, an insistence with which pretty much nobody else agrees, it appears that Egypt may now have a suspect in the, um, terrorist bombing of Metrojet 9268: An EgyptAir mechanic whose cousin joined Islamic State in Syria is suspected of planting … Continue reading Egypt may have a suspect in the Metrojet bombing
A change of heart, sort of
The Syrian rebel High Negotiations Council has decided to send representatives to Geneva after all. Kind of: A senior HNC delegate said the group would send "30, 35 people" to Geneva, the AFP news agency reports. Earlier, Fuad Aliko, a source close to the group, said the delegation would not be acting "as negotiators". Farrah … Continue reading A change of heart, sort of
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 