The United States warned its citizens on Tuesday of possible summer terrorist attacks in Europe, saying targets could include the European soccer championship in France, although a U.S. official said there was no specific threat information.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
Ground Assault on Fallujah Begins
Iraqi special forces began a ground assault on the city of Fallujah as part of an offensive launched a week ago to seize back the city from Islamic State militants.
WWII attack survivor: 'I didn't think I was ever going to come up'
On May 19, 1942, Ray Downs and his family were aboard the freighter Heredia, about 40 miles from New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico. Then came the German U-boat attack.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Can Trump Win? These Battleground Regions Will Decide
• Donald J. Trump faces daunting obstacles in Florida, the upper Southeast, the Rust Belt and the interior West. • And if Hillary Clinton clinches the Democratic nomination, she may find an electoral bulwark in these swing-state voters.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Trump University ordered to show how it sold its programs
A judge overseeing a lawsuit filed against Donald Trump regarding his closed real estate education program called Trump University has ruled parts of internal documents, including "playbooks" regarding running the enterprise, should be released as part of the case.
Golden State Forces A Game 7 In Epic Come-From-Behind Victory
The Oklahoma City Thunder were 12 minutes away from returning to the NBA Finals. They were up by eight entering the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, and things were looking good. Russell Westbrook was nearing a triple double. Kevin Durant was firing on all cylinders. The team was jelling, and they were close to doing what had once seemed impossible: knocking off the best team in NBA regular season history.
Then, Klay Thompson had perhaps the most important quarter of his NBA career.
Thompson hit five threes in the fourth quarter alone on his way to an NBA playoff record 11 for the game and 41 points in total, willing the Golden State Warriors back into the game and then keeping them there. Then Curry, who has struggled throughout the series against the long-armed Thunder, found something that looked a lot like his confidence, knocking down two critical threes, one to bring them within one with just under four minute to go.
Then another just over a minute later to tie it, 99-99.
Then, with just 1:35 to go, Thompson hit his final three, putting the Warriors up for the first time in the fourth. They would never trail again.
Durant ended the game the game with 29 points and and 7 rebounds. Westbrook pulled together 28 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists. But in what felt like something of a miracle, the 73-9 Warriors held on and won, 108-101. Both teams head to Oakland for a Game 7 on Monday. And in truth, there are really only two ways to feel, best displayed by the below tweet and GIF.
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Venezuela Drifts Into New Territory: Hunger, Blackouts and Government Shutdown
The country is adjusting to a new normal of closed government and business offices, food shortages and cuts in water, electricity and phone service.
Rise of Donald Trump Tracks Growing Debate Over Global Fascism
Mr. Trump's campaign has engendered impassioned discussion about the nature of his appeal and warnings from critics on the left and the right.
Friday, May 27, 2016
What we know so far about the superbug in the Pennsylvania case
Q & A with infectious-disease expert about news that researchers have found a person in the U.S. carrying bacteria resistant to antibiotics of last resort.
Hiroshima survivor: Obama should have come earlier
Hiroshi Shimizu was just 3 years old when the United States dropped the first-ever atomic bomb on his hometown seven decades ago. He can still describe it in vivid detail.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Iraqi forces may face human shields as Fallujah offensive begins
Iraq's military and militia forces advanced Monday to liberate Fallujah from the Islamic State, as airstrikes pounded the city that officials see as key to stopping a spate of attacks by the militant group.
How a British citizen became one of the most notorious members of ISIS
The Londoner, part of a group that included “Jihadi John,” was one of the jailors who guarded Western hostages.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Untold Damage: America's Overlooked Gun Violence
Most shootings with four deaths or injuries are invisible outside their communities. And most of the lives they scar are black.
It's No Accident: Advocates Want to Speak of Car 'Crashes' Instead
Activists are campaigning to change a 100-year-old mentality that they say trivializes the single most common cause of traffic incidents: human error.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
How Iran Dominates the Middle East? Soft Power
The mainstream media and politicians have emphasized Iran's hard power, military capacity and its army's role in the Middle East, which is part of Tehran's expansionist policies. The emphasis is warranted.
Nevertheless, focusing solely on Iran's hard power and military capacity is misplaced. By dedicating all their resources and concentrating on Iran's military capacity, regional and global powers are running the risk of falling into the Iranian government's political trap which is what exactly Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the high commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aim for.
It is accurate to argue that governments around the region should take the Islamic Republic's military capacity as well as the IRGC and Quds forces' expansions in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen seriously. However, Iran still exerts a significant amount of non-military influence in the region, and continues to expand it, through manipulation of various soft power tactics.
But it is crucial to point out that although Iran's major strategies of deploying successful soft power resources remain intact, there is going to be a new trend and tactical shift. Iranian leaders are delighted to make noise about their military power, bandwagon on the success of Shiite militias, take credit, and launch missiles to project their power, exaggerate it, and in order to shift the focus from their real goals of exerting influence and having a say in the domestic politics of neighboring countries.
Militarily speaking, Iranian leaders are cognizant of the fact that they are not a match for the American military or other regional powers. The US can easily inflict significant damage and even cripple Iran's military infrastructure in matter of weeks. Being aware of that, however, the Islamic Republic continues to project its military power in order to steer attention away from the real issues.
Manipulation of soft power
First of all, Iran's soft power strategies are long-term oriented. As an Iranian official once said to me, the reason behind Iran's growing presence in the region despite the sanctions and isolation were "soft power accompanied with patience".
The Islamic republic was established with almost no allies in the region. During the subsequent decades, they managed, with minimal cost to dominate Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as have proxies in other countries in the region, such as Bahrain and Yemen. If this trends continues, in 10 or 20 years, the number of these proxies and Iran's influence in the region will absolutely increase.
Before sanctions were lifted, Iran focused primarily on manipulating and capitalizing on the grievances of other groups, building alliances with them, showing them they share the same ideological views (such opposing Israel, opposing their government, helping them topple the Sunni majority government, opposing the United States, etc.)
Iran's soft power is not only theological but also ideological. Tehran does not only focus on building alliances with Shiites in order to exert its influence in the region and interfere in the domestic politics of countries. For example, Tehran is currently forming strong relationships with some Kurdish Sunni groups by demonstrating to them that Iran shares the same grievances with them.
After building alliances with these groups and forming a united public opinion, Tehran then assists them in becoming political realities in those nations in order to exert its influence through the "legitimate" political institutions of that country. In this case, if the government of that particular nation is overthrown, Iran's proxy is well-placed to take over (such as in Iraq).
Even if the government is not overthrown, that government will think twice about reacting to Iran (such as Lebanon's government and Hezbollah). Secondly, Iran's soft power is multi-layered and sophisticated, encompassing several governmental organizations.
Iran also continues to use other strategies including cultural, educational and religious institutions, such as training powerful Shiite religious figures from other countries in Qum, establishing thousands of seminaries, giving scholarships and fellowships to foreigners to come and study Shiism in Iran, establishing Iranian studies programs in other countries, promoting the Persian language, investing in Arabic and English news outlets (such as Press TV, Al Alam, Al Kawthar), pioneering investments in religious films- which advances Iran's political version of Islam.
Third, Iran's soft power is coherent and well-organized, although it might not always produce the outcome that Tehran desires (For example, some instances of tension with Hamas).
As one can see, Iran used both top-down and bottom-up approach to utilize its soft power and exert influence before sanctions were lifted. The emphasis at this time was more on the bottom- up approach. But Iran's priorities in soft power strategies have tactically shifted due to the sanctions reliefs and its application of hard power.
_______________________
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an American political scientist, business advisor, US foreign policy, Iran and Middle East expert, and the president of the International American Council on the Middle East. Harvard-educated, Rafizadeh serves on the advisory board of Harvard International Review and have briefed governments, politicians, NGOs and testified in courts as an expert. An American citizen, he is originally from Iran and Syria, grew up and lived most of his life in Iran and Syria till recently. He is a board member of several significant and influential international and governmental institutions, and he is native speaker of couple of languages including Arabic and Persian, speaks English and Dari, and can converse in French, Hebrew.
You can sign up for Dr. Rafizadeh's newsletter for the latest news and analyses on HERE.
You can also order his books on HERE.
You can learn more about Dr. Rafizadeh on HERE.
You can contact him at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu or follow him at @Dr_Rafizadeh. This post first appeared on Al Arabiya.
__________________________________
Nevertheless, focusing solely on Iran's hard power and military capacity is misplaced. By dedicating all their resources and concentrating on Iran's military capacity, regional and global powers are running the risk of falling into the Iranian government's political trap which is what exactly Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the high commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aim for.
It is accurate to argue that governments around the region should take the Islamic Republic's military capacity as well as the IRGC and Quds forces' expansions in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen seriously. However, Iran still exerts a significant amount of non-military influence in the region, and continues to expand it, through manipulation of various soft power tactics.
But it is crucial to point out that although Iran's major strategies of deploying successful soft power resources remain intact, there is going to be a new trend and tactical shift. Iranian leaders are delighted to make noise about their military power, bandwagon on the success of Shiite militias, take credit, and launch missiles to project their power, exaggerate it, and in order to shift the focus from their real goals of exerting influence and having a say in the domestic politics of neighboring countries.
Militarily speaking, Iranian leaders are cognizant of the fact that they are not a match for the American military or other regional powers. The US can easily inflict significant damage and even cripple Iran's military infrastructure in matter of weeks. Being aware of that, however, the Islamic Republic continues to project its military power in order to steer attention away from the real issues.
Manipulation of soft power
First of all, Iran's soft power strategies are long-term oriented. As an Iranian official once said to me, the reason behind Iran's growing presence in the region despite the sanctions and isolation were "soft power accompanied with patience".
The Islamic republic was established with almost no allies in the region. During the subsequent decades, they managed, with minimal cost to dominate Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as have proxies in other countries in the region, such as Bahrain and Yemen. If this trends continues, in 10 or 20 years, the number of these proxies and Iran's influence in the region will absolutely increase.
Before sanctions were lifted, Iran focused primarily on manipulating and capitalizing on the grievances of other groups, building alliances with them, showing them they share the same ideological views (such opposing Israel, opposing their government, helping them topple the Sunni majority government, opposing the United States, etc.)
Iran's soft power is not only theological but also ideological. Tehran does not only focus on building alliances with Shiites in order to exert its influence in the region and interfere in the domestic politics of countries. For example, Tehran is currently forming strong relationships with some Kurdish Sunni groups by demonstrating to them that Iran shares the same grievances with them.
After building alliances with these groups and forming a united public opinion, Tehran then assists them in becoming political realities in those nations in order to exert its influence through the "legitimate" political institutions of that country. In this case, if the government of that particular nation is overthrown, Iran's proxy is well-placed to take over (such as in Iraq).
Even if the government is not overthrown, that government will think twice about reacting to Iran (such as Lebanon's government and Hezbollah). Secondly, Iran's soft power is multi-layered and sophisticated, encompassing several governmental organizations.
Iran also continues to use other strategies including cultural, educational and religious institutions, such as training powerful Shiite religious figures from other countries in Qum, establishing thousands of seminaries, giving scholarships and fellowships to foreigners to come and study Shiism in Iran, establishing Iranian studies programs in other countries, promoting the Persian language, investing in Arabic and English news outlets (such as Press TV, Al Alam, Al Kawthar), pioneering investments in religious films- which advances Iran's political version of Islam.
Third, Iran's soft power is coherent and well-organized, although it might not always produce the outcome that Tehran desires (For example, some instances of tension with Hamas).
As one can see, Iran used both top-down and bottom-up approach to utilize its soft power and exert influence before sanctions were lifted. The emphasis at this time was more on the bottom- up approach. But Iran's priorities in soft power strategies have tactically shifted due to the sanctions reliefs and its application of hard power.
_______________________
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is an American political scientist, business advisor, US foreign policy, Iran and Middle East expert, and the president of the International American Council on the Middle East. Harvard-educated, Rafizadeh serves on the advisory board of Harvard International Review and have briefed governments, politicians, NGOs and testified in courts as an expert. An American citizen, he is originally from Iran and Syria, grew up and lived most of his life in Iran and Syria till recently. He is a board member of several significant and influential international and governmental institutions, and he is native speaker of couple of languages including Arabic and Persian, speaks English and Dari, and can converse in French, Hebrew.
You can sign up for Dr. Rafizadeh's newsletter for the latest news and analyses on HERE.
You can also order his books on HERE.
You can learn more about Dr. Rafizadeh on HERE.
You can contact him at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu or follow him at @Dr_Rafizadeh. This post first appeared on Al Arabiya.
__________________________________
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
VP choices could be key
Polling shows that the likely general election matchup between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will feature unprecedented negative favorability ratings: 49% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Clinton, while 57% viewed Trump unfavorably, according to a recent CNN/ORC poll.
Clinton: 'I will not pander to the gun lobby'
Hillary Clinton on Saturday slammed Republican rival Donald Trump as a politician beholden to the gun lobby and said a Trump presidency would mean "more kids at risk of violence and bigotry."
Will Clinton vs. Trump be a nail-biter?
Democrats knew a general election battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump would be rough, but many never considered the potential of a nailbiter.
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Trump goes after Clinton on guns
Donald Trump on Friday told the National Rifle Association that Hillary Clinton would take away the right to bear arms -- a position the Democratic front-runner has never taken and immediately denounced.
Report: Prince might have been dead for hours before found
One day before his body was found, Prince was given intravenous fluids at a Minneapolis area hospital, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which attributed that information to an unnamed source with knowledge of the investigation.
How Kosovo Was Turned Into Fertile Ground for ISIS
Extremist clerics and secretive associations funded by Saudis and others have transformed a once-tolerant Muslim society into a font of extremism.
IS calls for attacks on West during Ramadan in audio message
A new message purporting to come from the spokesman of Islamic State calls on followers to launch attacks on the United States and Europe during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in early June.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Opioid Prescriptions Drop for First Time in Two Decades
For each of the past three years, opioid prescriptions have declined in the United States, the first sustained drop since OxyContin hit the market in 1996.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Once Full of Symbols of Hope, Despair, 9/11 Repository Set to Close
Since 2002, the Port Authority has distributed 1,890 pieces of the twin towers' steel and 550 other objects that were housed in Hangar 17 at Kennedy Airport.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Florida lawmaker calls for probe into teens' disappearance at sea
A state lawmaker on Tuesday asked Florida's top law enforcement agency to open a criminal investigation into the disappearance at sea of two teen boaters from Tequesta.
Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly: A Marriage of Convenience
The Republican presidential candidate and the Fox News anchor both need each other.
Clinton looks to bounce back with Kentucky win
Hillary Clinton hopes to avoid another round of primary defeats that, while doing little to diminish her delegate lead over Bernie Sanders, magnify her difficulty in unifying the Democratic Party.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Not One, Not Two, but Three Scandals Seethe in Alabama
Impending trials reach to the tops of three branches of government, and the prosecution could lead to a meltdown of the state's political system.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
'I Will Kill Him': Afghan Commander Targets Son, a Taliban Fighter
The determination of Abdul Basir to kill his 22-year-old son is a sign of how Afghanistan's violence has poisoned the closest of relationships.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Fed's transgender guidance provokes fierce backlash
The Obama administration's directive on the use of school bathrooms by transgender students has provoked a torrent of criticism. It also marks a new front in America's long-running culture wars.
Solar Project Pairs Muslims and Jews to Aid West Bank Farmers
Experts say the $100,000 environmental venture is the first substantial one in the West Bank to be financed by a group involving Muslims and Jews in the U.S.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Obamacare takes hit from judge
Republicans won the first round Thursday in a separation of powers battle against President Obama that once again focuses on his most prized achievement: Obamacare.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Obama's popularity rising just in time for his last campaign
President Barack Obama's popularity is growing just in time for him to wage the final campaign of his political life.
US Takes Tougher Tone On Israeli Settlements In New Report
The United States will endorse a tougher tone with Israel in an upcoming international report that takes the Jewish state to task over settlements, demolitions and property seizures on land the Palestinians claim for a future state, diplomats told The Associated Press.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Md. shooting suspect was trying to carjack some victims, records show
Eulalio Tordil killed his wife and shot five others - 2 fatally - in less than 24 hours, police say.
Friday, May 6, 2016
Alabama chief justice faces ouster after gay marriage fight
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore faces removal from the bench over his effort to block same-sex marriage from coming to Alabama despite the U.S. Supreme Court that effectively legalizing gay marriage nationwide.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
TSA under investigation for racial profiling
A TSA employee said his supervisor told him to treat Somali people "differently."
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Trump's Victory Has Some in GOP Agonizing - or Bolting
Some Republican leaders are so disgusted with the presumptive presidential nominee that they have publicly declared their support for Hillary Clinton.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Trump Would Have an Uphill Battle Against Clinton
This is when early general-election polls start to become meaningful, and Donald J. Trump trails Hillary Clinton by around 10 percentage points.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
The border park where separated families hug across a steel divide
A first lady once said there should never be a wall in the park at the U.S.-Mexico line. Now long-separated families rely on glimpses through a steel fence.
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