Riz Khan on US-Iranian relations, interviewing Gary Sick. Veteran diplomat Edward P. Djerejian also weighs in on US-Iranian relations: ‘You negotiate peace with your adversaries and enemies, not with your friends. That is what diplomacy is all about. With current sanctions and talks under the aegis of the United Nations making little progress in impeding […]
Royal Dutch Shell Deal in Iraq
Aljazeera English on the Shell deal with Iraq to develop natural gas. Critics of the deal say there was no competitive bidding. Supporters say it will help the British, Dutch and Iraqi economies.
GI Killed in Baghdad by Guerrillas; Mass Grave near Baquba with Dozens of Bodies; $13 Bn. in Taxpayer Money Embezzled or given to ‘al-Qaeda’
Reuters reports that “A U.S. soldier died after a small-arms fire attack on his patrol in Baghdad.” Near Baquba, Reuters says, “Police found three mass graves containing tens of bodies in two areas south of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, the government said in a statement. . . “ Iraqi auditor Salam […]
Chorev Reviews Hafez on Suicide Bombers
Suicidal Ambitions: Human Bombs and the War in Iraq By Matan Chorev Review of Mohammed M. Hafez Suicide Bombers in Iraq: The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2007) 285 pages, $17.50 hardcover. Since 2003, according to the United States Library of Congress, over 800 books on the Iraq […]
A Nation of Masochists
“I send my tormentor hurrying hither and thither in the service of my suffering and desire.” – Mason Cooley (d.2002) I have concluded that Americans, who pretend in public to be straitlaced, are in fact rabid masochists addicted to whips, black leather and the application of fists. It turns out that large numbers of people […]
8 Killed, 82 Wounded in Bombings, Attacks; Benchmark Laws Still Stalled
The guerrilla war continues in Iraq. On Sunday, guerrillas blew up the general manager of the Ministry of Finance, Ihsan Ridha, and a Brigadier General, Adel Abbas, who was a manager of the ministry of the interior (which has FBI-like functions in Iraq). Ridha was injured; Abbas was killed. Police and army patrols were bombed […]
Baghdad Mayor: US Tanks Run Amok and There’ll Never be a Street Named for Bush in Baghdad
The USG Open Source Center translates a recent interview with Baghdad mayor Sabir al-Isawi in a Czech newspaper. The mayor 1) denies that the US troop ‘surge’ is the major reason for the reduced violence in Iraq; 2) complains bitterly that US armored corps drivers continually run their tanks over lampposts, gardens and other things […]
Truck Bomb Caught on Tape
Aljazeera English shows and analyzes a just-released security tape from the Marriott in Islamabad, showing the bomb-laden truck ramming the security perimeter. There were two initial explosions on the truck, probably to prime the big bomb and security personnel were trying to put out the fire on the truck . . .
Islamabad Bombing puts Pressure on US-Pakistan Ties
Bloomberg argues that Saturday’s bombing of the Marriott in Islamabad will likely put pressure on US/ Pakistani relations. The bombing was a clear signal from militants that the Pakistani government must back away from its American alliance. Newly elected president Ali Asaf Zardari gave an address to the parliament in which he called for the […]
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