Category Archives: Iraq

That time a former UN official called Iraq sanctions ‘genocide’

what is tragic, in addition to the tragedy of Iraq itself, is the fact that the United Nations Security Council member states … are maintaining a program of economic sanctions deliberately, knowingly killing thousands of Iraqis each month. And that … Continue reading

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Rojava: Chapter 1B

Palestine, Zionist Colonialism, and Arab Reaction   My essay “Gaza: A Capitalist Genocide”[1] discusses the violent nationalism of Zionism in greater depth, but in this section my main aim is to point out the significant role that Israel played in … Continue reading

Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Muslim nations, Pakistan, Palestine, politics, Syria, Syrian Civil War, Zionism | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fears of the Powerful and the Hopes of the Peaceful

After two decades of cruising along the contaminated economic canals built by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, the Labour Party’s failure to win the 2015 election proved quite definitively that it had no fuel left (even with the oil stolen … Continue reading

Posted in Arab Nationalism, Arab Spring, Arab World, Assad, Autonomy, Bad Government, Bourgeois Democracy, Britain, capitalism, Capitalist Crisis, Chauvinism, Conservative Party, Conservatives, Corbyn4Leader, Democracy, dignity, Economy, Europe, Great Britain, Imperialism, independence, International Relations, Iran, Iraq, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Islamism, Israel, Jeremy Corbyn, JezWeCan, Kurdistan, Labour, Labour Leadership, Labour Leadership Elections, Labour Party, Libertarian Socialism, Murder, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, New Labour, Oppression, Peace, Plutocracy, politics, Progressive, Reactionism, rebellion, Refugee Crisis, Refugees, revolution, Salafism, Saudi Arabia, Secularism, Social Activism, socialism, Terrorism, The Media, Tories, Turkey, UK, UK Elections, UK Elections 2015, UK Politics, UKElections, United Kingdom, War | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Betrayal of Yezidis in Iraq

Written by University of Zakho professor Ivan Hasan Murad For decades, the Yezidis have been living alongside Christians and Muslims, with Kurds and Arabs living together peacefully as brothers and sisters. In spite of the religious and ritual differences between … Continue reading

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“They then began to sell us” – A Testimony from the ISIS Massacre of Yezîdîs

“On the day of August 3rd, 2014”, says Amsha Ali Elias Khalty, “we were in Ger Ezer village”. Having seen ISIS terrorists approaching, she remembers, “we ran for three hours until we arrived at Khabazya neighbourhood, which is near Gadala … Continue reading

Posted in Chauvinism, Ezidis, Iraq, ISIL, ISIS, Massacre, Murder, Salafism, Sengal, Sinjar, Slavery, Syria, Wahhabism, Yazidis, Yezidis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Footnotes for “Rojava: An Alternative to Imperialism, Nationalism, and Islamism”

Here is the list of footnotes of my book “Rojava: An Alternative to Imperialism, Nationalism, and Islamism” (the pdf of which is available here https://ososabiouk.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/pdf-of-rojava-an-alternative-to-imperialism-nationalism-and-islamism-in-the-middle-east/ [a hard copy can be bought at http://www.lulu.com/shop/oso-sabio/rojava-an-alternative-to-imperialism-nationalism-and-islamism-in-the-middle-east/paperback/product-22094170.html?ppn=1%5D) https://ososabiouk.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/gaza-a-capitalist-genocide-essay/ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperialism https://libcom.org/library/national-formation-arab-region-critique-samir-amin-mohammad-jafar http://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/feb/01/islamic-science http://www.teachmideast.org/essays/28-history/42-timeline-of-the-middle-east-in-the-20th-century http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/10/17/a-secular-history-of-islam/ http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/profilesmuhammed.htmlContinue reading

Posted in Anarchism, Arab Spring, Arab World, Autonomy, Footnotes, Freedom, Imperialism, Iran, Iraq, Islamism, justice, Kurdish Spring, Kurdistan, Libertarian Communism, Libertarian Socialism, Nationalism, Peace, Rojava, Secularism, Syria, Turkey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Daesh, Imperialism, and Rojava

The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923) united much of the Arab World for centuries. In the 19th century, however, it began to decline, and the imperial powers of Europe tried to ensure their own political influence in the region. The UK, for … Continue reading

Posted in Anarchism, Arab Nationalism, Assad, Autonomy, Ba'ath, Ba'ath Party, capitalism, CIA, Democracy, dignity, Education, Environment, Europe, Exploitation, Iraq, ISIS, Islamic State, Kurdistan, Kurds, Libertarian Communism, Libertarian Socialism, PKK, PYD, revolution, Rojava, Saddam Hussein, Salafism, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Wahhabism, YPG | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment