Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • RSS
  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2026 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Juan Cole

Uncategorized
Pakistan to Send Special Ops into Tribal Areas

Pakistan to Send Special Ops into Tribal Areas

Juan Cole

Pakistan appears to be acquiescing in Bush administration demands that it send special ops forces in to fight the dissident tribal forces and the Tehrik-i Taliban, according to LAT. Aljazeera International reports on the impact on civilians of this sort of fighting:

Iraq
Bombing in Baghdad; Doubts Cast on Diyala Operation

Bombing in Baghdad; Doubts Cast on Diyala Operation

Juan Cole

Guerrillas used a car bomb to kill 8 persons in Baghdad and wound 14 The Iraqi government will order $9 billion in weapons from US firms. This sort of thing, if it continues, would make the Iraq War worthwhile to the Military-Industrial Complex. If you want to turn an enemy into a customer, nothing does […]

Iraq
Iraqi Kurdish paper interviews Turkoman Front official Chawder

Iraqi Kurdish paper interviews Turkoman Front official Chawder

Juan Cole

The USG Open Source Center translates a newspaper interview with an official of the Turkmen Front. Turkmen speak a language similar to that used in Turkey, and so are the objects of concern of Turkey concerning their treatment in Iraq. Kurds implicated Turkmen in the horrific bombing at Kirkuk last week, though this allegation strikes […]

Iraq
Kurds on Kirkuk Council call for Annexation of Oil City

Kurds on Kirkuk Council call for Annexation of Oil City

Juan Cole

Kurdish members of the Kirkuk/Tamim Province governing council called Friday for the city of Kirkuk to be annexed to the nearby Kurdistan Regional Authority. This move is vehemently rejected by Kirkuk’s Arabs and Turkmen. The federal government is calling for calm after this provocative act, which occurred while Arab and Turkmen delegates were boycotting the […]

Uncategorized
ISI Linked to Indian Embassy Bombing; McCain client Musharraf Likely Implicated

ISI Linked to Indian Embassy Bombing; McCain client Musharraf Likely Implicated

Juan Cole

How much of the $10 billion in aid Bush and Cheney gave to Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf after September 11 ended up being used to kill US, NATO and Afghan troops in Afghanistan? NYT reports that US intelligence intercepted communications between elements of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s military intelligence division, indicating that they gave support […]

Iraq
2 US Soldiers Killed; Al-Sadr Calls for Rejection of SOFA

2 US Soldiers Killed; Al-Sadr Calls for Rejection of SOFA

Juan Cole

Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr again called on PM Nuri al-Maliki to decline to sign a Status of Forces Agreement with the US Pentagon. He pledged the support of the Sadr Movement to al-Maliki if he complied with the request. Antiwar.com says,”Thursday: 2 US Soldiers, 20 Iraqis Killed; 21 Iraqis Wounded”. McClatchy rounds up political violence in […]

Uncategorized
Pakistani Consulate bombed; NATO Commander in Afghanistan Calls for More Troops; Strikes same Notes as Obama

Pakistani Consulate bombed; NATO Commander in Afghanistan Calls for More Troops; Strikes same Notes as Obama

Juan Cole

Bomb blast outside Pakistani consulate at Herat wounds one. Aljazeera International interviews Gen. David McKiernan, who sounds to me just like Barack Obama on Afghanistan– saying that he doesn’t have enough troops in Afghanistan, that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are resurgent, and that the big problem is Taliban sanctuaries in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas […]

Uncategorized
Cole in Salon: Why Bush Folded on Iran

Cole in Salon: Why Bush Folded on Iran

Juan Cole

My essay why Bush sent a high-level diplomat to meet Iranian negotiators with no preconditions is out in Salon.com. Excerpt: ‘Pundits and diplomats nearly got whiplash from the double take they did when George W. Bush sent the No. 3 man in the State Department to sit at a table on July 19 across from […]

Uncategorized
McCain and the Rage Celebrities; Does he Need to go to Rehab?

McCain and the Rage Celebrities; Does he Need to go to Rehab?

Juan Cole

McCain had pledged to run a clean campaign, but like Mike Tyson when he’s in the mood to munch ear, the Republicans just can’t control themselves. First they tried to blame Barack Obama for the current price of energy, which is actually so high because Republicans have been in Big Oil’s back pocket and in […]

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • …
  • Page 1043
  • Page 1044
  • Page 1045
  • Page 1046
  • Page 1047
  • …
  • Page 1617
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Harari deconstructs the Israeli Narrative from within
  • American Reich: Kristi Noem's DHS is the Department of Homeland Subjugation
  • Shooting Protesters from Minneapolis to Tehran
  • Iran regime: A Plato's Republic thought experiment gone too far?
  • Turning Point: Wind and Solar outstrip Fossil Fuels in Europe for First Time

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2026 All Rights Reserved