Robin Wright, one of the best Western journalists out there when it comes to reporting from inside Iran, has a new piece in The New Yorker today on the common Iranian chant, "Death to America." If you are unfamiliar with Iran and perhaps troubled by their use of this chant, or perhaps you're a Republican … Continue reading If you’re worried about Iranians chanting “Death to America,” I found something for you to read

So the Taliban officially acknowledged that Mullah Omar is, in fact, no longer among the living, though one wonders how long they've been trying to Weekend at Bernies this whole thing, if the reports that he died two years ago are accurate. He's reportedly been replaced (though again, when he was actually replaced is an … Continue reading Meet the new Taliban boss (?), Akhtar Mansur

This whole "today in Middle East history" thing that I do is a little bit of a cheat, since most events in the Middle East at least from the founding of Islam have been happening, officially, on the Islamic (Hijri) calendar, which is a lunar calender and thus never quite lines up with the Western … Continue reading Today in Middle Eastern history: Happy birthday Baghdad (762)

Speaking of Israel and Palestine, there seems to be a growing concern that the Israeli government may do something to change the legal status of al-Aqsa: On Monday, chunks of rock still peppered the entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site. Volunteers worked to remove shards of glass and metal, but parts of … Continue reading Is something big about to happen at al-Aqsa/the Temple Mount?

Remember a couple of weeks ago, when Saudi King Salman took a somewhat surprising meeting with Hamas's political leadership? Well, it seems that Hamas might have had good reason for meeting with the chief regional rival to their ostensible Iranian patrons: Iranian aid to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has drastically decreased, a senior Hamas … Continue reading Hamas may need a new sponsor

You couldn't make this stuff up: a day after the Obama administration announced that convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard will be released from prison in November, Benjamin Netanyahu expresses his gratitude like so: Israel gave final approval on Wednesday for plans to build 300 new homes in a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, … Continue reading Just in time for Jonathan Pollard to live in one of them!

Apparently Mullah Omar is dead, or maybe it would be more appropriate to say that "he has been dead." For a while now: Taliban leader Mullah Omar died two years ago in Pakistan, a spokesman for Afghanistan's security services says. Abdul Hassib Seddiqi told the BBC's Afghan Service that Mullah Omar had died of health … Continue reading That’s a hell of a “belated condolences” card

Apparently Mullah Omar is dead, or maybe it would be more appropriate to say that "he has been dead." For a while now: Taliban leader Mullah Omar died two years ago in Pakistan, a spokesman for Afghanistan's security services says. Abdul Hassib Seddiqi told the BBC's Afghan Service that Mullah Omar had died of health … Continue reading Does Hallmark make a “sorry to hear you’ve been dead for a while now” card?

Because one of the core tenets of American democracy is that it must make everybody's lives as miserable as possible at all times, the first debate of the 2016 presidential campaign will take place next week, roughly (according to scientists I've spoken with) 42 years before the actual election is scheduled to take place. Fox … Continue reading Are any of the kids’ table candidates going to tell Fox to cram it?

I kind of dropped the Greece bailout story a couple of weeks ago, because to be perfectly honest I think I can only deal with one major global agreement at a time around this place. But as we got right up to the brink of a Grexit, it turned out that, well, nobody, least of … Continue reading A funny thing happened on the way to Grexit