Many thanks in advance to Karl Pohrt and his great independent bookstore Shaman Drum for this party. Shaman Drum Events CalendarAcademic Reception: Title: Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle EastAuthor: Juan ColeLocation: Shaman Drum Bookshop Time: Mon Oct 01, 4:00 PM In this vivid and timely history, Juan Cole tells the story of Napoleon’s invasion of […]
Ahmadinejad lectures at Columbia University
Huge Bombing in Baquba Iranians close border with Iraqi Kurdistan
Iran has closed its border with Iraqi Kurdistan. This move appears to come in part in reaction to the US kidnapping of an Iranian commercial agent, on the grounds that he is a covert operative, from Sulaimaniya (a city in Iraqi Kurdistan). In addition, Kurdish guerrillas of the PEJAK organization have been taking refuge in […]
Iraqi Sermons
The USG Open Source Center translates or paraphrases Iraqi Friday Prayer sermons from last week. “Round-up of Iraqi Friday Sermons 21 SepIraq — OSC SummarySunday, September 23, 2007 Major Iraqi television channels – Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah, Baghdad Baghdad Satellite Channel, Baghdad Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad Al-Furat, Cairo Al-Baghdadiyah, and Baghdad Al-Diyar – are observed on 21 September to […]
Let Slip the Dogs of War and Demonize Ahmadinejad
My column at Salon.com is online: Turning Ahmadinejad into public enemy No. 1: Demonizing the Iranian president and making his visit to New York seem controversial are all part of the neoconservative push for yet another war.” Excerpt: ‘Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly has become […]
Iraq Relents on Blackwater Bush to ask for Nearly $200 bn.
The Iraqi government is backing off its demand that the Blackwater security firm be expelled from Iraq in the wake of apparently unprovoked shootings that left 11 Iraqis dead, according to the LAT. Apparently the argument has been made to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that the 1,000 Blackwater guards who escort US embassy personnel would […]
Pentagon Report Gives Lie to Surge Success
Reprinted for Monday readers: An article on how the schedule for turning Iraqi provinces over to the Iraqi army and police for security purposes has slipped to August 2008 notes of a new Pentagon report: ‘ The Pentagon report cited a litany of problems with the police. For example, it said as few as 40 […]
Tzipi Livni Aboutface: Now Against Terrorism
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, now grandstanding at the UN, is the daughter of Eitan Livni, the chief operations officer of the Irgun terrorist organization. Among Irgun’s most spectacular operations was the blowing up of the King David tourist hotel in Jerusalem, which killed dozens of innocents (also some British intelligence officers). Just to give […]
Escobar on Palestinian Refugees in Brazil
Pepe Escobar writes with regard to my posting about Brazil’s granting of asylum to Palestinian refugees expelled from Palestine by the Israeli military in 1948, who had taken refuge in Iraq but have now been forced out of that country, as well. Escobar writes regularly for the Asia Times and has a recent book, Red […]