Archives for January 2007

70 Killed in Orgy of Bombings, Kidnappings Shiites Consult Sistani on Iran/Mahdi Army Strategy Ankara Conference on Kirkuk: Kurds disinvited So there is no sign yet that the guerrillas and militiamen in Iraq are lying low in fear of a new US offensive. They set off numerous bombs all over the capital, targeted Kurds in […]

Cole in Bay Area Here is how things have shaped up for later this week when I’m on the West Coast. Wednesday Jan 17, 7 pm.UC Santa Cruz: “Juan Cole, professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Michigan and moderator of the “Informed Comment” blog will give a talk on the Iraq War […]

“Sleeping through the Revolution”: Martin Luther King on the Evils of War Here are some excerpts on war from Martin Luther King, Jr., “Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution. The comments in italics are mine. ‘ I want to say one other challenge that we face is simply that we must find an alternative to […]

Iraq for Land: Can Jordan, Egypt and other Sunni Arab States Get a Real State for the Palestinians, Peace for Israel, and Peace for Iraq all at Once? Will Bush even let them Try? Bush admitted that he needs the help of the governments of Sunni Arab states neighboring or in the vicinity of Iraq […]

Saddam’s Execution and the Revival of the Baath Party in Iraq Saddam’s half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and the head of his revolutionary court were hanged early on Monday. An Iraqi government spokesman came out and said that Barzan’s head came off during the hanging. I don’t think most Sunni Arabs will accept that this was an […]

Misreading the Enemy My op-ed at the Mercury News, “Misreading the Enemy,” argues that “As long as the Sunni Arabs of Iraq are so deeply unhappy, they will simply generate more guerrillas over time. Bush is depending on military tactics to win a war that can only be won by negotiation.”

Mahdi Army Lowers Profile Sunni Guerrillas now Mainly fight Shiites McClatchy reports that Mahdi Army militiamen in Baghdad have adopted a low profile as they await the arrival of extra US troops, storing their weapons and taking down their checkpoints. The weapons, says one informant, are still nearby. Ghaith Abdul Ahad of the Guardian sheds […]

If the Shoe were on the other Foot Europeans who use a credit card to buy an airplane ticket to the United States open themselves to further scrutiny by US authorities. Even special food preferences indicated to the airline would be communicated to US law enforcement (i.e. if you order a kosher, vegetarian or halal […]

Attempts at Marginalizing Carter Intensify Fourteen members of the Carter Center have resigned in protest over former president Jimmy Carter’s book,”Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” AP hints that they were mostly themselves Jewish Americans. The Jerusalem Post says all were. This is only 7% of his board, which has 200 members. The lobby is drawing wagons […]