Commentary / World Aug 17, 2014

Devastating use of barrel bombs in Syria, Iraq

by Cesar Chelala

In spite of a U.N. Security Council resolution banning the use of "barrel bombs" — a type of improvised explosive device filled with shrapnel, oil and chemicals — both the Syrian and Iraqi governments continue to use them against civilians.

Commentary / World Oct 13, 2013

In Iraq, nothing gets built and civil war looms

by Gwynne Dyer

Back in Iraq, nothing gets built or repaired, unemployment is 30 percent, and the Shiites and Sunnis are again lurching toward civil war.