Juan Cole

5 US Troops Killed, 25 Injured A suicide bomber in Baghdad killed 2 US troops and wounded 25, 3 of them seriously. 16 were hospitalized but not in serious condition. 5 US troops have been killed since Wednesday. AP adds: “Also in Baghdad, one soldier died from wounds early Thursday after his unit came under […]

Pope Gets it Wrong on Islam Pope Benedict’s speech at Regensburg University, which mentioned Islam and jihad, has provoked a firestorm of controversy. The address is more complex and subtle than the press on it represents. But let me just signal that what is most troubling of all is that the Pope gets several things […]

Khamenei calls for US to Depart Iraq US Troop Levels Rise to 147,000 US troop levels in Iraq have jumped to 147,000. You have to wonder whether this big runup of troop commitments is related to an attempt to calm the country in the run-up to midterm elections in the US. 2 more US soldiers […]

Maliki in Tehran for Oil Deal 60 Bodies found; 24 Dead in Bombings A bombing Wednesday morning killed 3, and 60 bodies were found in various parts of Baghdad the previous 24 hours. Courtesy of Mehr. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad had something of a lovefest at their press conference […]

Bush and Rockefeller Two controversies are swirling. One regards President Bush’s address to the nation on the anniversary of September 11, which Democrats say was too nakedly political for that solemn occasion. The other concerns remarks by Jay Rockefeller that seemed to say it would have been better to leave Saddam in power. With regard […]

Damascus Foils Attack Israel & Lebanon Syrian security foiled an attack on the US embassy in Damascus by elements of the radical Jund al-Sham (Army of Syria), which has radical Sunni fundamentalist views. US Secretary of State Condi Rice expressed her government’s gratitude for Syria’s prompt and effective intervention. Syria has been a US ally […]

US Soldier Killed, among 28 Others Sadrists Reject Draft Law on Confederacies Guerrillas bombed a minivan carrying recruits for the Iraqi army, killing 16. Other Sunni Arab guerrillas staged a a mortar attack on a Shiite mosque Monday in Bani Saad, Diyala Province, killing 7 persons. Altogether, wire services reported 29 dead in civil war […]

Zawahiri threatens Gulf, Israel Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports [Ar.] that Ayman al-Zawahir threatened Monday in a videotape aired on Aljazeera to launch “new attacks” in Israel and the Gulf. He also announced that the biggest Algerian armed group would join “Qaeda al-Jihad in Mesopotamia [Iraq].” A prominent member of the Salafiyah Group for Mission and Battle […]

The War with al-Qaeda The war with al-Qaeda has many dimensions. There is the war with the organization itself. There is the struggle against its offshoots and copycats. There is cooperation with Muslim governments and communities in derailing the threat. There is the question of the strength of Sunni fundamentalist parties that might support al-Qaeda. […]