Jonathan Marshall – Belated Pushback on Saudis’ War on Yemen

If there were an Olympics for waging bloody wars, Saudi Arabia and its Arab coalition allies would surely win a medal for their relentless bombing of Yemen over the past year and a half to crush rebels who seized power in 2014. One international NGO has called the ongoing war in Yemen “arguably the worst humanitarian crisis in the world,” which is …

Elena Holodny – This is Saudi Arabia’s ‘Achilles’ heel’

In the aftermath of the 2003 terrorist attacks carried out by nationals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, then Crown Prince Abdullah argued that youth unemployment was the kingdom’s biggest challenge. Fast-forward 13 years, and the problem remains a pressing issue for the Arab state. “Abdullah singled out youth unemployment as Saudi Arabia’s No. 1 security challenge — and it is,” Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy …

Deirdre Fulton – US Support for Saudi Coalition Remains Steadfast, Despite Growing Outcry

The U.S. remains defiant in its support for the Saudi campaign in Yemen, even as its backing for the ongoing and indiscriminate assault comes under increasing scrutiny. Following a week that saw the Saudi-led coalition kill significant numbers of Yemeni civilians, including in an attack on a school and the bombing of a Doctors Without Borders facility—which led the charity to announce it was pulling its staff from the northern …

GARY LEUPP – Finally: the Eruption of the Clinton Foundation Scandal

I confess I’d been looking forward to this. My son, following the Judicial Watch website, has been saying for months that the big email scandal will involve the State Department-Clinton Foundation ties and Hillary’s use of her office to acquire contributions from Saudi and other donors. As someone opposed to World War III (beginning in Syria and/or Ukraine), I was …

James W Carden – Bill Clinton got millions from world’s biggest Sharia Law education firm

Former President Bill Clinton collected $5.6 million in fees from GEMS Education, a Dubai-based company that teaches Sharia Law through its network of more than 100 schools in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation. The company’s finances strictly adhere to “Sharia Finance,” which includes giving “zakat,” a religious tax of which one-eighth …

Jon Queally – Baby Teeth of Iraqi Children Tell Troubling Tale of War’s Toxic Impacts

In an effort to learn more about the impacts of long-term exposure to heavy metals and other toxins associated with warzone bombardments and military installations, a new study released Fridayexamined a sample of donated teeth and discovered that the children of Iraq are suffering from alarming levels of such substances, specfically lead. The study—entitled Prenatal Metal Exposure in the Middle East: …

Lawrence Davidson – Letting Saudi Arabia Off the 9/11 Hook

On Nov. 27, 2002, a bipartisan commission was established by Congress to investigate the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. By the time the commission was created, President George W. Bush had characterized the attacks as “acts of war,” adding that “freedom and democracy are under attack.” It was therefore to be expected that anyone who was …

ROBERT FISK – Don’t be Fooled by Reports that al-Qaeda and Nusra Have Split for the Good of the Suffering Syrian People

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is at it again. Qatar’s ruler has been trying to get Jabhat al-Nusra off America’s infamous “terrorist” list once more – and calculating that the institutional memory of the world’s media is that of a street dog. He’s right. Last year, Tamim’s Al Jazeera satellite channel produced a tiresome two-part interview with Mohamed al-Julani, Nusra’s CEO, in …

Paul R. Pillar – The Fallacy of ‘Regime Change’ Strategies

Many variables are involved in the messy predicaments in the Middle East, but one way of framing the history and issues of U.S. policy toward the region is in terms of the approaches that have been taken toward so-called rogue regimes. That term, one should hasten to add, obscures more than it enlightens. But it has been in general use …