Archives for 2005

Sectarianism Dominates Iraq in Run-up to Elections The December 15 elections are shaping up as a sectarian affair. The United Iraqi Alliance groups four of the five main Shiite religious parties: Dawa, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the Muqtada al-Sadr branch of the Sadrists, and the Islamic Action Organization, along with many […]

Billmon on the Zarqawi Myth Billmon does an excellent job of summarizing my argument that the Sunni Arab guerrillas (many of them rooted in the old Baath security forces) are attempting to provoke a civil war, and that they blame Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for their attacks on the Shiites. I think everyone has a reason […]

Libby Pleads Innocent I just saw that former vice presidential chief of staff Irving Lewis Libby has pleaded innocent of charges that he obstructed justice and lied under oath. If Libby sticks with this plea, it guarantees a messy and spectacular trial that Bush and Cheney obviously would have liked to avoid. How to read […]

Triangulating a Scandal The Italian parliament is again looking into charges that Italian military intelligence passed forged documents alleging Iraqi purchases of Niger uranium to the US. The charges were amplified in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica last week (check my October archives for the link. It occurs to me that if a new and […]

20 Killed in Mosque The guerrillas detonated a huge bomb outside a Shiite mosque on Wednesday at Musayyib south of Baghdad, killing 20 and wounding twice that number. Another four GIs were killed, in addition. The steady drumbeat of violence demonstrates that mere political developments such as the constitutional referendum or the preparations for parliamentary […]

North African Riots in Paris Paris outskirts had a seventh night of violence on Wednesday. The riots seem to be typical race riots, mainly involving North and West African Muslims. Some 200 cars have been burned, in a ring around the French capital. The riots were set off when police chased two youths who then […]

Blogging at Billmon’s The brief blogging I’m doing this morning is courtesy of the kindness of Billmon, whom I’m visiting. He’ll have something to say about a talk I gave yesterday evening at Swarthmore on Iraq, over at his blog.

Dems Press for Iraq Investigation Toward A Unified Field Theory of the Fraud? Senator Harry Reid, backed by Senators Charles Schumer and Debbie Stabenow, invoked an arcane rule of the senate allowing it to be closed on Tuesday. Reid and the Democrats were protesting the inaction of the Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by Pat Roberts […]

Talabani Opposes Military Action against Syria Admits Helplessness Some 20 Iraqis were killed or wounded in guerrilla violence on Tuesday. In one incident, a 13 year old boy carried out a suicide bombing that killed the head of the emergency police in Kirkuk. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday before the United Nations: “I categorically […]