The cowardice of qualification: When anti-war voices speak the language of empire

April 24th, 20260 A respected human rights activist has spoken repeatedly against the U.S.-Israeli aggression on Iran. She recognizes the illegality of the war and does not shy away from condemning it in clear terms. Yet, almost invariably, she feels compelled to qualify her position, reminding her audience that Iran has killed "tens of thousands of...

Yes, Iran is playing chess, but only after rewriting the rules of the game

March 27th, 20262 By Ramzy Baroud & Romana Rubeo The origins of chess are contested, but few dispute that while the game began in India, it was the Sassanian Persian Empire that refined it into a recognizable strategic system. It was Persia that codified its language, symbolism and intellectual framework: the shah (king), the rokh (rook) and...