Juan Cole

Few Foreign Fighters in Iraq; Many are Saudi Al-Maliki Says Iraqi Troops ready Manan Ahmed gives further insights into the motivations of the Glasgow bombers. Ned Parker of the LA Times reports that of 19,000 “insurgents” held by the US military in Iraq, only 135 are foreigners. Think about that when you hear Bush say […]

Pace: Independent Iraqi Battalions in Decline Gen. Peter Pace says that the number of Iraqi battalions (about 500 men) who can operate wholly independently of the US forces has fallen in the past year from 10 to only 6. He also says we should not worry about that statistic. He points out that the number […]

House rebuffs Bush on Iraq Iraq Minorities in Extreme Peril The House of Representatives again rebuffed Bush on Iraq, voting by a comfortable majority to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq but to keep some there to fight ‘al-Qaeda terrorists’ in Iraq. This plan of keeping troops in Iraq to fight “al-Qaeda” seems to me naive. […]

30 Bodies found in Baghdad Death Squad killings Spike For a Daily Kos diary on our panel at Yearly Kos in Chicago, Aug. 3-6, this link. Many thanks to Markinsanfran. Reuters reports civil war violence in Iraq on Wednesday. Some 30 bodies were found in the streets of the capital, victims of death squad violence. […]

Sadrists Furious with al-Maliki over “Baathist” Charge The USG Open Source Center reports on the tiff between the Sadrists in parliament and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki occasioned by the latter’s charge that some Mahdi Army commanders are “Baathist” thugs. Iraq: Al-Sadr Trend Criticizes Prime Minister’s Charge of ‘Ba’thist’ InfiltrationIraq — OSC ReportTuesday, July 10, 2007 […]

20 Rockets, Mortar Shells, Hit Green Zone; Kill 3 Petraeus Meets with Presidency Council On Tuesday, guerrillas launched some 20 katyusha rockets and mortar shells into the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad, killing 3 persons, including a US soldier, and wounding 25 persons. The Green Zone was originally supposed to be the safe place in […]