North Africa
France bombs Syria; US bombs Libya
Two days after the Paris attacks, French warplanes carried out air-strikes on the ISIS capital Raqqa—as the US bombed ISIS targets in Derna, Libya.
Tag: France
Europe
From Beirut to Paris…
The terror campaign in Paris has shocked the world, while the previous day's ISIS attacks on a Shi'ite district of Beirut were mere background noise for the world media.
Greater Middle East
Putin pries Western leaders from anti-Assad stance
British Prime Minister David Cameron is now the first Western leader to take Vladimir Putin's bait in agreeing that Bashar Assad can be part of a Syrian "transition government."
Planet Watch
Obama pursues nuclear ‘modernization’ —not disarmament
Despite early pledges to seek a nuclear-free world, Obama is launching a "modernization" of the US arsenal that actually makes atomic war more likely.
Greater Middle East
ISIS coordinated attacks from France to Kuwait?
Seemingly coordinated attacks left over 140 dead across four countries in what social media users are dubbing "Bloody Friday"—one year after declaration of the ISIS "caliphate."
Europe
UN meeting on anti-Semitism… Oy vey
The UN hearings on anti-Semitism will certainly enflame anti-Semitism—affording Israel the opportunity for propaganda exploitation, and for Jew-haters to exploit the backlash.
Afghanistan
Anti-French protests in North Africa, Afghanistan
Eight are dead in anti-Charlie Hebdo protests in Niger, with street clashes also reported from Algeria and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, a cleric praised the attackers as "true mujahedeen."
Europe
#JeSuisCharlie hypocrisy goes off the charts
Under the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie, an attack on free speech is being used to justify further attacks on free speech… in the paradoxical name of protecting free speech.
Europe
Europe: destroying freedom to save it
At thier meeting in Paris to condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo, European Union government ministers issued a statement calling for further restrictions on the Internet.
Europe
#JeSuisCharlie, #JeSuisMusulman: contradiction?
The dueling hashtags #JeSuisCharlie (I am Charlie) and #JeSuisMusulman (I am Muslim) reveal a pathological dichotomy: we can defend free speech and oppose Islamophobia.
Europe
‘Car Intifada’ comes to France?
An outbreak of motorist attacks on pedestrians in France is spun exclusively in terms of Islamist extremism, leaving out the critical factor of car culture.
Greater Middle East
New Syrian rebel coalition: tilt to Turkey
Syrian rebels announced formation of a new Revolutionary Command Council at a meeting in Turkey—dominated by conservative Islamists but excluding Nusra Front and ISIS.