When pressed on the future of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Bush declined to back him as forcefully as in the past. He said it was up to the Iraqis to decide. I don’t think things look good for al-Maliki. Al-Quds al-`Arabi [pdf] reports in Arabic that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is “disgusted” with the al-Maliki […]
al-Hayat: al-Duri Seeks Political Role, Turns on Salafis
Al-Hayat [Life] reports in Arabic that the Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri wing of the Baath Party (one of four major Baath factions) has decided to break with the Salafi Jihadis (‘al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia’) and to open negotiations with the Iraqi government and with the American military. So said Baath figure Wisam al-Jash`ami in a telephone interview. […]
Syrian Newspapers Optimistic on al-Maliki Visit
The USG Open Source Center rounds up Reactions of Syrian Newspapers to the visit to Damascus of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki Syrian Papers Expect Al-Maliki’s Visit To ‘Reflect Positively’ on RegionSyria — OSC SummaryTuesday, August 21, 2007 Syrian newspapers on 21 August note the importance of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s visit to Syria and […]
Second Shiite Governor Slain Levin Calls for al-Maliki to be Unseated al-Maliki in Damascus
Reuters reports that the governor of Muthanna province, Mohammed Ali al-Hassani, was assassinated on Monday by a roadside bomb. This killing was the second in recent days of a provincial governor from the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC). In both Muthanna and Qadisiya, the site of the other assassination, the Badr Corps paramilitary of SIIC […]
Rubin on Herat
See Barnett Rubin’s latest blog entry at the Global Affairs blog, “Return from Herat: Wherein one Pessoptimist Meets Another.”
Cole in Salon: The Poisonous Legacy of Karl Rove
My Salon column is out: The poisonous rhetorical legacy of Karl Rove Even Fox’s Chris Wallace wants to know why Bush’s newly departed advisor had to paint Democrats as traitors. Excerpt: ‘ [Chris] Wallace followed up by asking Rove to justify the notorious June 22, 2005, speech he gave before the New York Conservative Party, […]
Mortar Shells Kill 10 in downtown Baghdad US Mil organizes Sunni Neighborhood Watch
The NYT reports that the US military is setting up neighborhood militias in Sunni Arab areas, called “Guardians,” to patrol and curb Salafi Jihadi gangs. Two questions come to mind. Why is it that those hundreds of thousands of Iraqi police cannot do this job (it is after all their job)? And, will the Sunni […]
Eagan Guest Op-Ed A Vietnam Vet Recognizes Iraq Frustrations
In response to the NYT op-ed by specialists and sergeants on Sunday, Jerry Eagan writes with his own experiences: Dr. Cole. In July, 1967, while back home in Indiana on “convalescent leave” from an Army hospital, I wrote a similar, albeit, shorter letter to my hometown newspaper. As these men are, I was a “grunt,” […]
Al-Hashimi’s Party will not Rejoin Government For Now; NYT Op-Ed from Soldiers on the Ground
As Bill Maher has quipped, we have had a balanced set of commentaries on the Iraq War on television news. We have heard from the generals and the retired generals. Today at the NYT we hear from some specialists and sergeants. In a thoughtful, analytically precise, and informed essay, they lament the pie in the […]
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