Juan Cole

18 Dead in Baquba Battle; Rice Urges Iraq to be more like Vietnam (???!!) AP says that Secretary of State Condi Rice asserted Saturday that Iraqis only have a future if they stay within a single state. She pointed to Vietnam’s success in reforming its economy and making up with the United States and held […]

Dhari Controversy; security Guards Killed Traveling and I am posting via my Treo so no hyperlinks. 14 Bodies found in Baghdad, 2 near Fallujah. 3 more private security guards attacked Friday in south. 5 kidnapped Thursday unaccounted for — WaPo. [Reuters reports scattered political violence in Iraq on Friday, with 14 bodies found in Baghdad […]

Arrest Warrant for Harith al-Dhari of AMS; Higher Education Abductees Tortured; Militias Capture 14 Western Security Guards Militiamen in southern, largely Shiite Iraq took 14 private security guards captive, employees of the Crescent Security Group. Four of these civilians were thought to be Americans. Four US troops were announced killed on Thursday, three of them […]

Abizaid Opposes Withdrawal, Increase in Troop Levels; Nearly 100 Killed, including 6 GIs Hayden: Almost Satannic Terror Reuters was able to find out about and report nearly 100 killings in the ongoing Iraqi civil war on Wednesday. Police discovered 55 bodies in Baghdad alone, and there were car bombings, firefights and assassinations. The deaths of […]

Dozens Kidnapped at Higher Ed Ministry; Other Killings leave 117 Dead Western news organizations were able to identify 117 killings in Iraq’s civil war on Monday, though one suspects they only scratched the surface. Reuters surveys the carnage. ‘ BAGHDAD – A car bomb ripped through a crowded market area in Rasheed Street in central […]

Civil War Violence Kills 100; Abizaid Meets Maliki; Olmert Thinks Iraq is Stable Guerrillas attempted to assassinate Iraqi Vice President Adil Abdul Mahdi on Monday, but only succeeded in killing two of his bodyguards. The gunmen attacked the vice presidential convoy. Abdul Mahdi was narrowly defeated for the position of prime minister last spring, and […]

3 GIs, 4 British Killed Guerrillas Slay over 100 al-Maliki shuffles Cabinet The Democratic Congress will pass a resolution in January asking that troops start coming home by mid-2007 in a phased withdrawal. Three US troops were announced killed in Iraq on Sunday, some dying of wounds incurred earlier. Shiite guerrillas, most likely, used an […]

Sunnis Kill 10, Kidnap 50 Shiites; GIs face Sniper Fire CBS News and the Associated Press report that on Saturday: ‘(CBS/AP) Sunni gunmen ambushed a convoy of minibuses at a fake checkpoint on the dangerous highway south of Baghdad, killing 10 Shiite passengers and kidnapping about 50. Across the country at least 52 other people […]

Sistani Aide: Americans Bomb both Sides 4 US GIs killed on Friday Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports that Ahmad al-Safi, a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, preached a Friday prayers sermon in the mosque attached to the shrine of Imam Husayn, the revered martyred grandson of the Prophet. He said he hoped Saddam Hussein would be […]