Sectarian Numbers Guest comment by Joshua Birk In his September report to Congress, General Petraeus claimed “the number of ethno-sectarian deaths was down by over 55%.” His assessment stands in sharp contrast with the Government Accountability Office report from earlier in the month, which concluded that “It is unclear whether sectarian violence in Iraq has […]
Transcript Reveals Impeachable Offenses by Bush Re: Iraq War
El Pais published a transcript of the conversation between George W. Bush, Jose Maria Aznar of Spain, and Condoleeza Rice held at Crawford before the Iraq War. Bush is typically bullheaded, impatient, conspiratorial, bullying, arrogant, ill-informed and way over-optimistic. The transcript shows the true colors of the man– a sort of thuggish, ignorant Mafia don– […]
Hundreds Dead and Wounded in Wave of Violence in Iraq Deadliest Bombing in Baghdad since July
McClatchy reports that a wave of bombings shook Iraq on Wednesday. In double bombing in the Baghdad market of Baya` left 32 dead and nearly that many wounded. From Sinjar in the north to Basra in the south, the country seemed consumed in a paroxysm of violence. Reuters reports that on Wednesday, ‘ BAGHDAD – […]
Iranian Border Closure Roils Kurdistan; Is Weapons Baiting a War Crime?
Sunni Arab guerrillas blew up an internal pipeline bringing petroleum from Baiji to the refinery at Doura in Baghdad. It is the second such act of sabotage in the past week. A frightening spread of cholera and cholera-like symptoms up and down Iraq is now being reported, with cases in Basra in the deep south […]
"There are no homosexuals in . . ." More Common a Sentiment than you Might think
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s bigotted statement that there are no homosexuals in Iran derived from his rightwing religious commitments. What he said is very serious. He erased gays right out of existence. The ultimate in denying people their rights is to deny they even exist (the nonexistent obviously have no rights.) There could be a […]
Shaman Drum Book Party for Napoleon’s Egypt
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 […]
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