Salah al-Ubaidi, a spokesman for the Sadr Movement, says that it will not boycott the fall provincial elections, exactly. The Movement will not run candidates under its own name, but will rather have some Sadrists run on other party lists, and will through support behind independents. This strategy is similar to that of the Muslim […]
Karzai Theatens Pursuit into Pakistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday threatened to send Afghan troops on hot pursuit of Taliban readicals right into Pakistani territory. That threat doesn’t strike me as a good development for the US in Afghanistan.
2 Killed, 45 Injured in Bombings Saturday; Sadr To Appoint Special Ops Commanders; Sadrists Withdraw from Provincial Elections
A female suicide bomber injured 34 soccer fans and police in the town of Qara Tappah in Diyala Province, 75 miles northeast of Baghdad. The fans had poured into the street after watching Iraq beat China in a sports cafe. Likely this was an attack by a radical Sunni Arab cell on a largely Kurdish […]
Massive Guerrilla attack in Afghanistan; 4 Marines Killed
Breaking News: Guerrillas in western Afghanistan deployed a roadside bomb to kill 4 US Marines on Saturday. Pushtun guerrillas mounting an insurgency against the Karzai government and against NATO troops in the Pushtun areas of Afghanistan staged a daring prison break on Friday. They set off bombs at a prison in Qandahar, killing 15 prison […]
Al-Maliki: May ask US Troops to Leave; Al-Sadr Forms Special Groups to Fight Occupation
First, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that negotiations between Iraq and the Bush administration over a status of forces agreement were at an impasse. He said that the US was asking Iraq to give up too much sovereignty. Earlier this week he had met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who warned him against giving […]
Suspects’ Right to Court Hearing Affirmed; Obama Advisors Clash on Troop Strength
If you liked the Supreme Court’s reinstatement of Habeas Corpus, vote Obama. McCain did not like it and will be in a position to appoint a justice who will vote with the four dissenters. Bush dismissed the ruling as that of only 5 against 4. (Wasn’t that the margin that made him president in 2000?) […]
US Airstrike in Pakistan Angers Public; Afghanistan Aid Plagued by Corruption
A wave of anger has washed over Pakistan because the US hit Pakistani troops along with the Taliban to whom it was giving hot pursuit. I don’t think a lot of the development aid given Afghanistan is reaching its intended objects. Farideh Farhi at our Global Affairs blog on how Iran’s Iraq policy is not […]
McCain Confuses Baghdad with Seoul Again; 5 Dead, 10 Wounded in Minibus Bombing; Do Ruling Shiites Want US Out?
John McCain says that it isn’t too important when American troops leave Iraq, that the main thing is to ensure there aren’t troop deaths. He said that the US has troops in a lot of places, including South Korea. (Via via Veracifier). Contrast the Arizona senator’s glib comment with reporting about the real Iraq: ‘ […]
Secret UK Dossier "Damning" of Iraqi Army
The narrative of the American Right about Iraq is that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is finally in control, that the Iraqi armed forces are performing well, and that in short things are now going swimmingly. This narrative is a variation on the “Good News” story that the Bush administration has used all along to propagandize […]
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