The Current Situation The Islamic State's blitzkrieg advances in Iraq last summer, coupled with those in Syria, are the biggest threat ever to the post-1919 borders in the lands of ancient Mesopotamia. Many don't want to characterize Abu Bakr's caliphate as a state, but it has an army, controls territory, and operates administrative structures, even schools and hospitals. And in the broad conflict stretching from eastern Iraq to western Syria and even Lebanon, the caliphate is not going away soon. The grievances and fears of the Sunni Arabs that boost the Islamic State, and the grievances and fears of neighboring…

From Der Spiegel Magazine- Borders can be annoying, but largely predictable — in Europe at least. That is what truck driver Yevgeny believed until recently. Many of them are no longer monitored at all, but even those that are guarded rarely hold surprises for those wishing to cross them. “You know if you can zip across them or if you have to plan for a five-hour wait. But this one? I have no idea how it works.” The border he is referring to is that of a wartime stronghold on the edge of a largely borderless European continent. At the first…

Reports that US and British aircraft carrying arms to ISIS have been shot down by Iraqi forces have been met with shock and denial in western countries. Few in the Middle East doubt that Washington is playing a ‘double game’ with its proxy armies in Syria, but some key myths remain important amongst the significantly more ignorant western audiences. A central myth is that Washington now arms ‘moderate Syrian rebels’, to both overthrow the Syrian Government and supposedly defeat the ‘extremist rebels’. This claim became more important in 2014, when the rationale of US aggression against Syria shifted from ‘humanitarian…

 This is the text of a joint statement on Libya by the governments of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States issued on February 17. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEOffice of the SpokespersonFebruary 17, 2015 Joint Statement on Libya by the Governments of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States The governments of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States strongly condemn all acts of terrorism in Libya. The heinous murder of twenty-one Egyptian citizens in Libya by ISIL-affiliated terrorists once again underscores the urgent need for a political…

Dear Afaf, Benjamin Netanyahu will speak tomorrow morning (Tuesday, March 3) before both Houses of Congress in an effort to sabotage any negotiated settlement between the United States and Iran. ANSWER is organizing a demonstration tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. We hope you will join us. If you can’t come to the protest, please show your support for this action and for the ongoing work to cut all U.S. financing and funding of Israel by making an urgently needed donation. This movement needs funds in order to keep growing all over the country. Netanyahu’s appearance before Congress is a real outrage.…