Kurds as US Allies against Iran?

by James M. Dorsey There may be a silver but risky lining for Kurdish nationalists in their devastating loss of Kirkuk and other cities on the periphery of their semi-autonomous region as they lick their wounds and vent anger over… Continue Reading

Donald Trump and the Fourth Great Shattering

by John Feffer When the historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., published his bestseller The Disuniting of America in 1991, he didn’t seriously entertain the worst-case scenario suggested by the title. At the time, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were imploding, while separatist movements… Continue Reading

Things Fall Apart

by John Feffer Democracy can be messy. In the northeast corner of Spain this week, democracy was downright chaotic. Catalans went to the polls on Sunday to vote in a referendum on whether to stay in Spain or go their… Continue Reading

Why Tehran Should Balance Its Relations with Baghdad and Irbil

by Shireen Hunter    When the issue of a referendum in Kurdistan on its eventual independence from Iraq emerged, Iran expressed its concerns about the disintegrative dynamics that this act could set in motion not just in Iraq but throughout… Continue Reading