Let them eat bullets?
“They're talking about tomatoes, aubergines, peppers. But just think about the price of bullets. Think of what the cost is to equip our soldiers to fight terrorists. But you're still talking about...
Category: Middle East
Shamima Begum should be brought home; statelessness is no solution
Four years ago, three British schoolgirls left the country and made their way to Syria to support the so-called Islamic State (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh). Aged just 15, they had each been groomed...
East or West? Iran’s uncertain future
When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 15 years of exile forty years ago this month, he rode high on the slogan: “Neither East, nor West – but the Islamic Republic!” Khomeini...
Iraqi Kurds vent their anger over Turkish airstrikes
In a truly unprecedented development, angry Iraqi Kurds on Saturday, January 26, ransacked one of Turkey's military bases on their soil in reaction to the continuous Turkish airstrikes on the...
Is Trump’s planned Syria withdrawal really a case of practical realism?
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from Syria, where at least 2,000 U.S. troops are supporting Kurdish-led forces in their multiple offensives against the Islamic State (ISIS),...
Turkey keeps shooting America’s Syrian Kurdish allies in the back
Over the past three weeks, Turkey has launched a series of cross-border artillery bombardments against the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the foremost fighting-force...
The anti-climatic destruction of the Islamic State ‘caliphate’
The Islamic State (IS) dominated headlines internationally after it swiftly conquered one-third of Iraq in the summer of 2014 and declared its self-styled caliphate. The group luridly showcased its...
These Kurds were the victims of an unprecedented Iranian missile attack
On the morning of September 8, Iran, in a truly unprecedented move, fired seven Fateh-110 short-range ballistic missiles into neighbouring Iraqi Kurdistan. The target was the headquarters of Iranian...
Mental health in the Middle East: A crisis of awareness
We live in a tough world, where everyone fights different battles to survive, to move on. A lot of us, however, engage in an especially terrifying battle – one tough enough that functioning...
The Yezidi people face a human rights crisis
On August 3, 2016, I accompanied some displaced Yezidi victims of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group back to the ruins of their city, Sinjar, where they demonstrated against their continued...