Tag Archives: war

Extremist group Islamic State (IS) on Thursday released a defiant audio clip of Chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after air strikes sparked rumors that he was killed or wounded. In the 17-minute clip, a man implied to be the IS leader vowed that the group will continue to expand in the region despite the international aerial campaign, and that it will …

By Ramzy Baroud The text of the letter was short and precise, leaving no room for any misinterpretation in the “promise” made by Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour to a powerful representative of the Jewish community in Britain, Lord Rothschild on a fateful day of 2 November 1917. “I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of …

Eric Walberg- The Middle East Eye In recent weeks there has been a spate of articles about western youth flocking to Syria and now Iraq to join the IS “caliphate.” An estimated 11,000 such fighters have already made the leap. Up to 130 Canadians have joined them, including Hamiltonian York University student, Mohamud Mohamed Mohamud, a Somalian Canadian, known to …

By Ramzy Baroud Consider this comical scene described by Peter Van Buren, a former US diplomat, who was deployed to Iraq on a 12-month assignment in 2009-10: Van Buren led two Department of State teams assigned with the abstract mission of the ‘reconstruction’ of Iraq, which was destroyed in the US-led wars and sanctions. He describes the reconstruction of Iraq …

By Philip Weiss- MONDOWEISS Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen says that the Palestinians are to blame for the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 in which 750,000 Palestinians were expelled by or fled Zionist militias and were never allowed to return. In his new book Israel: Is It Good for the Jews? Cohen says that by resisting the Zionist movement …

By Ramzy Baroud What if the so-called Islamic State (IS) didn’t exist? In order to answer this question, one has to liberate the argument from its geopolitical and ideological confines. Flexible Language Many in the media (Western, Arab, etc) use the reference “Islamist” to brand any movement at all whether it be political, militant or even charity-focused. If it is …

by Ramzy Baroud Netanyahu’s war-turned-genocide in Gaza has backfired badly – his strategy has helped resurrect Hamas, the very movement he tried desperately to crush Aside from being a major military setback, Israel’s war on Gaza has also disoriented the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu like never before. Since the announcement of a ceasefire on 26 August, his statements …

On Wednesday, the Middle East Quartet of peacemakers joined calls for an expedited start to rebuilding efforts in war-ravaged Gaza before the peace with Israel may end due to renewed violence. “The precarious situation in Gaza and southern Israel, the danger that violence could flare up again at any point, are precisely the reason to move as quickly as possible …

The Palestinian government and the United Nations on Tuesday called for international donors to present $550 million in aid to hundreds of thousands who need help in Gaza. The appeal comes only two weeks after Hamas and Israel ended 50 days of brutal violence, in a war which caused the deaths of over 2,100 people. The donors’ conference will be …

By Abdulrahman Murad Gaza, Nearly three weeks of being housed in overcrowded shelter schools in dire living conditions has not dulled Gazans’ desire to see Israel’s blockade on the strip lifted. Palestinians displaced from east Gaza City following Israeli shelling and bombing of the Shejaiyeh and Tufah neighborhoods have demanded that negotiators in Cairo do not waive their demands during …