If anybody has officially claimed responsibility for tonight's terror attacks in Paris, that hasn't been widely disseminated yet. ISIS-related social media accounts are reportedly celebrating the attacks, but that's not the same as claiming responsibility. When Wilayat Sinai (allegedly) brought down that Russian airliner a couple of weeks ago, they claimed responsibility for it pretty … Continue reading Some too-soon Paris thoughts

The AP is reporting that 26 people (expect that number to rise) have been killed in a series of terrorist attacks in Paris this evening. A shooting at the Bataclan Theater resulted in multiple deaths and may now have become a hostage situation (perhaps 60 hostages are being held), and there's also been another reported … Continue reading Terror attacks in Paris (Updated)

The Pentagon is "reasonably certain" (unofficial US sources are saying they're "99% sure") that Mohammed Emwazi, AKA "Jihadi John," AKA ISIS's chief beheader of Western hostages, was killed in a drone strike in Raqqa yesterday. I mention this only because it's all over cable news and the internet, and has been for much of the … Continue reading BREAKING: Man Probably Dead

Oh please, please, please... According to other Republicans, some in the party establishment are so desperate to change the dynamic that they are talking anew about drafting Romney — despite his insistence that he will not run again. Friends have mapped out a strategy for a late entry to pick up delegates and vie for … Continue reading Today in things I badly want but don’t deserve

This is still very much a developing story, but ISIS has claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing (which may actually have been intended as a triple suicide bombing, based on the latest evidence) today in the Beirut neighborhood of Burj al-Barajneh, which has killed at least 37 people and injured over 180 more: The … Continue reading ISIS hits Beirut

It's no secret that the American-led anti-ISIS coalition is planning an assault on the groups "capital," the Syrian city of Raqqa -- in fact, it's so unsecret that the US Secretary of Defense has talked openly about the plan in front of Congress. A force of mostly Kurds, along with a group of Arab fighters … Continue reading The assault on Raqqa is taking shape, in Iraq

The fall of Kunduz was a big moment for the Afghan Taliban, coming as it did after the announcement of Mullah Omar's death and his replacement by Mullah Akhtar Mansour, a guy who was believed to have something less than total support among the whole Taliban organization. Even though the Taliban abandoned Kunduz not long … Continue reading Afghanistan: dealing with the Taliban, ISIS, and the, ah, other Taliban

Last night Marco Rubio said something factually incorrect about welders and philosophers: During the fourth Republican debate, Marco Rubio picked up a point touched on by Rick Santorum in the undercard debate earlier in the night. "Welders," Rubio said, "make more money than philosophers." Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler looked at the idea, but we … Continue reading Facts actually do matter

It isn't often that you'll see me unabashedly defend Tayyip Erdoğan over anything, but here goes nothing. There was a story in Al-Monitor last week that said that Erdoğan is under a little fire from Turkish secularists over a Ministry of Education plan to start offering Arabic electives to elementary school students as of the … Continue reading The politics of teaching foreign languages in Turkey

Here's me, trying to make some sense of the AKP's stunning electoral turnaround: Turkey has suffered through a violent summer and early fall. The government has blamed two major terrorist attacks, in Suruc in July and in Ankara in October, on the Islamic State. A series of smaller, more targeted attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ … Continue reading Turkey’s election results, my latest at LobeLog