Juan Cole

Juan Cole is a public intellectual, prominent blogger and essayist, and the Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He has written, edited, or translated 14 books and has authored 60 journal articles; He blogs on the contemporary Middle East at Informed Comment.

If Rudy Giuliani’s Hush Money Claim Is True, Should Trump Be Trusted on Iran?

Repaying Cohen for intervening in a matter that could have thrown the election may have been illegal under election campaign laws.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
President-elect Donald Trump, right, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani pose for photographs as Giuliani arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016, in Bedminster, N.J.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Rudy Giuliani’s so-called defense of Donald J. Trump on Sean Hannity’s nightly One Hour of Hate involved outing the president’s money laundering deal with Michael Cohen whereby he paid him a regular retainer for undisclosed services and then expected him to spend from his own bank account on fixer jobs for Trump. This arrangement helps explain why

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If the Leaders of the Two Koreas Can Meet, Why Can’t Those of Saudi Arabia and Iran?

The Saudi-Iran standoff has some resemblances to that between the two Koreas. If the leaders of the latter two are widely recognized as being wise to meet, then it should be equally desirable for MbS to sit face to face with Rouhani.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, right, shakes hands with the head of North Korean delegation Ri Son Gwon during their meeting at the Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone in Paju, South Korea, Jan. 9, 2018. The rival Koreas took steps toward reducing their bitter animosity during rare talks Tuesday, as North Korea agreed to send a delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea and reopen a military hotline. (Korea Pool via AP)

The remarkable face to face meeting of the leaders of North and South Korea is being watched with hope by many observers, given the long decades of enmity between the two and the recent nuclear sabre-rattling of President Trump. At least in my circles, I see virtually no one condemning the meeting, though many are skeptical that it will lead to

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Donald Trump Asks Why CIA Did Not Massacre Family of Militant With Drone

Psychopathocracy: the rule of persons without conscience, without empathy, without the milk of human kindness, without any appreciation for the rule of law.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Monday, April 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Greg Jaffe at the Washington Post reports that Trump has reversed an Obama-era push to get the Central Intelligence Agency out of the business of assassinating people with drone strikes (Obama had tried to shift most such operations to the Department of Defense). In the course of reviewing video of a drone strike, Trump noticed that the drone

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Ultimate Hypocrisy: Saudi Crown Prince touts Religious Tolerance in NYC

Saudi Arabia is not religiously tolerant. It is religiously intolerant in ways that contradict Islam and give the religion a bad name.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at the Pentagon in Washington, March 22, 2018. (AP/Cliff Owen)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s charm offensive in New York allegedly involved meeting Oprah Winfrey, which may be the only canny thing I’ve ever heard of him doing. He also had some religious leaders over to his condominium in NYC to stress the importance of religious tolerance. MbS may be sincere, but here is an area where he has to

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Saudi Prince Dubs Iran, Turkey and Extremist Religious Groups “Triangle of Evil”

In a scathing interview with an Egyptian newspaper, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler spared no words against a growing list of enemies.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sits during an allegiance pledging ceremony flanked by senior Saudi religious figures in Mecca, Saudi Arabia June 21, 2017. (Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Royal Court)

Egypt’s al-Shuruq newspaper, which tilts liberal and secular, reports on the press conference in Cairo conducted by neophyte crown prince Muhammad Bin Salman, 32 on Wednesday. Bin Salman said that the current “Triangle of Evil” [paraphrasing George W. Bush’s speechwriter David Frum] was Iran, Turkey and extremist religious groups. He alleged

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Mueller Investigation Reveals Kushner Ties to UAE and Israeli Lobbies

The Mueller investigation is showing how entangled the United Arab Emirates is with Israel, and how the lobbies of the both, powerfully shape American policy.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner watches a ceremony where President Donald Trump was presented with The Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, at the Royal Court Palace, May 20, 2017, in Riyadh. (AP/Evan Vucci)

One of the surprises thrown up by the Gulf crisis and by the  is how entangled the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is with Israel, and how the lobbies of the two states in Washington powerfully shape American policy. While the Israel lobbies have received scholarly attention from John Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt and Kirk Beattie, the Emirates lobby has

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Bibi & Trump, Both Under Investigation, Meet on Phony ‘Deal of the Century’

Netanyahu hopes that Trump will put the weight of the US government toward full apartheid and accelerated Israeli squatting, bestowing Washington’s seal of approval on current Israeli policies.

Juan Cole
By Juan Cole
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting at the World Economic Forum, Jan. 25, 2018, in Davos. (AP/Evan Vucci)

Far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Monday with far-right white nationalist president Donald J. Trump in an apparent effort to hurry up Trump’s announcement of the “Deal of the Century” between Israel and the Palestinians. The Arabic press is speculating that Netanyahu, who has faced large anti-corruption rallies at

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