These militants are good at the internet. A little too good.
BEIRUT, Lebanon — “Just don’t make us out as if we’re beasts and terrorists, you know? We’ve got families like you, we’ve got sisters like you, and you’ve probably got brothers like me.” Despite his earnest tone, there aren’t many who have a brother like Abu Sumayyah. An ethnic Kashmiri raised in the UK, Sumayyah has been living in Syria for
Their land grab of Kirkuk during the first days of a swiftly moving crisis left many in Baghdad stunned. Immediately, tensions spiked between the Kurdish leadership and Iraq’s central government.
KIRKUK, Iraq — At a peshmerga outpost on the western outskirts of Kirkuk, talk of battlefield strategy in the fight against Sunni militants quickly devolves into trash talk about their supposed partner in that fight: the Iraqi military. "They're not fighting, they're just falling down," Qurshed Ismahil, the senior commander at this small base,
Ahmed Chalabi rolled into a displaced persons camp in northern Iraq on Saturday with his entourage, and held an impromptu press conference that looked very much like a campaign stop.
KALAK, Iraq — Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki may not be the man to lead Iraq, but no one else is either, say many Iraqis. It's too late for any single person to unify this country, they say. Ahmed Chalabi begs to differ. He rolled into a displaced persons camp in northern Iraq on Saturday with his entourage, and held an impromptu press
Saudi’s web-savvy youth, still highly devout, are reconsidering what Islam means in their social lives.
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — UTURN Entertainment, which produces YouTube videos lampooning Saudi society, had an unusual visitor about a year ago: Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, head of the Saudi National Guard. “He was like, ‘Yeah, you guys are doing a great job, everyone can see that, keep up the good work!’” recalled Ali Attas, 24, a director at
As one half of Spain’s anti-establishment left prepares its assault on the political system from within, local groups in Sants, the epicenter of unrest, seem increasingly focused on street level activism.
BARCELONA, Spain — The summer in Barcelona typically begins on the first of June. As you cycle round the city, the newly strong sun brings certain smells to the fore. Occasionally a waft of frangipani or cannabis smoke will cut above the ubiquitous exhaust fumes, but this weekend in the southern suburb of Sants, another fragrance was added to
The deterioration in Syria and the invasion and spread of extremism in northern and western Iraq is putting the “cradle of civilization” under the control of the Middle East’s most militant, ruthless and vile Wahhabi extremists.
DENVER — Iraq is collapsing. The Middle Eastern nation, where nearly 4,500 American lives were lost and nearly one billion dollars were spent from 2003-2011 to oust a dictator and rebuild a nation, is approaching chaos, perhaps even “failed state” status. The deterioration in Syria and the invasion and spread of extremism in northern and western
On the surface, Neuquen province is a vast tract of Patagonian desert that extends 1,000 miles to the southern tip of Argentina. But deep underground lies one of the biggest oil and shale gas fields on Earth.
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — On the surface, Neuquen province is a vast tract of Patagonian desert that extends 1,000 miles to the southern tip of Argentina. But deep underground lies one of the biggest oil and shale gas fields on Earth. The Vaca Muerta or Dead Cow rock formation covers an area about the size of Maryland. It holds the world’s