Archives for February 2005

At Least 55 Dead, Over 100 Wounded In Ashura Bombings Eight suicide bombers struck at various sites in Iraq on Saturday, killing and wounding dozens during the commemboration of Ashura. This holy day is sort of like Easter Friday for Shiites, when they remember the martyrdom of Husain, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. The […]

Present Conflicts, Looming Conflicts Reuters reports, ‘ Five U.S. soldiers were killed in separate guerrilla attacks in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday, three in or near the northern city of Mosul, one north of Baghdad and the fifth south of the capital. ‘ The Financial Times points out that a conflict is brewing between […]

Bomb Blasts kill at Least 40 Suicide bombers targeted three Shiite mosques in Baghdad and one near Kirkuk, and other blasts went off elsewhere in the country, wreaking devastation. The guerrillas continue to attempt to provoke Sunni-Shiite civil war, but so far Shiites are continuing to refuse to fall for this gambit. Having come to […]

Shiite Iraq Al-Hayat: Muhammad Husain Adili, the Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom, said Thursday that his government had leant substantial help to the United States in fostering a “calm atmosphere” for the holding of elections on Jan. 30 in Iraq. He revealed that Iran had contacted Sunni Arab groups with which it had influence […]

Shiites Have Majority The Iraqi Electoral Commission confirmed on Thursday the projection I reported here last Monday, that the United Iraqi Alliance or the Shiite religious parties have a 51 percent majority of seats in the new Iraqi parliament. They have 140 seats out of 275. The wire services have been confused about this matter […]

Engelhardt and Hiro on Iraq’s Fault Lines Tom Engelhardt is a national treasure and always worth reading. Whenever I think that Russell Jacoby might have been right about the passing of the “last intellectuals,” I think of Tom and conclude “not yet.” This week he introduces veteran journalist Dilip Hiro’s essay on the way that […]

Jaafari: “Islam to be Source of Legislation” Against the backdrop of political horse trading, the violence continued in Iraq on Tuesday. AFP reports: ‘ Two soldiers were killed and another wounded when a bomb exploded near the restive Sunni town of Dhuluiyah, north of Baghdad . . . Near the town of Balad, further north, […]

Hariri Murder Provokes Political Split The family of slain former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri refused to allow members of the government of President Lahoud to attend his massive funeral in Beirut on Wednesday. The family was flanked by Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader, and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. In the meantime, angry Sunni […]

Jaafari Takes lead Reuters is reporting that Ibrahim Jaafari is emerging as the frontrunner in the negotiations for prime minister. Jaafari opposed the US military assault on Fallujah, telling UPI: ‘ I believe that it is necessary to deal politically with what is happening in Fallujah because it is the best solution to end military […]