Juan Cole

Israeli Response to UN Ceasefire Call: Invades with 30,000 more Troops, Races for Litani The United Nations Security Council finally called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon late Friday. A “cessation of hostilities” means that Hizbullah has to stop its attacks, but Israel doesn’t have to stop its attacks or withdraw from […]

Iraq: Kurdish-Shiite Struggle for Kirkuk Provokes Violence in Shiite South Even though most sermons on Friday in Iraq, both Shiite and Sunni, denounced faith-based violence, tensions over religion continued to run high. In the wake of a massive bomb in the holy city of Najaf on Thursday, young Shiite nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr demanded that […]

Shapiro Guest Editorial: ‘ What will Israel Do? What Will Israel Do? by Adam Shapiro ‘ Each day and night of the week I have been here, I have heard and felt the impact of Israel’s advanced weaponry as it crashes into buildings, roads, bridges and other infrastructure of Beirut. But it is not only […]

The Pakistan Connection Pakistani police on Thursday arrested a number of UK Muslims within Pakistan who were also suspected of involvement in the “Liquid Bomb Threat.” British authorities say that they have been investigating the group behind the airplane bombing plot for “about a year.” The Scotsman says that the investigation began in 2005. US […]

Israeli Jets Kill 11, Wound 11 in Sunni North Naharnet roundup for early Friday morning (summarizes original sources plus AP & AFP): ‘ Israeli jets pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs and two border crossings in north and east Lebanon early Friday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 11 others . . . The casualties were […]

Najaf Bombing Kills 34, Wounds 122 A radical Sunni Arab group claimed responsibility Thursday for a horrific bombing in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, near the shrine of Ali. The bombing came during a holy day pilgrimage, and succeeded in deeply angering the inhabitants of Najaf. Al-Sharq al-Awsat says the the Najaf police chief […]

“A String of attacks that will continue and become stronger” The failure of the Bush administration to take the threat of Bin Laden and Zawahiri seriously and to capture them continues to leave Americans and others at risk. British authorities have arrested 21 members of a terror cell, apparently British-born or British-bred persons of Pakistani […]

More Bodies Found in Shiyah Rubble Hizbullah Kills 15 Israeli Troops Hizbullah Accepts Leb. Gov. Plan Shaikh Hasan Nasrallah, Secretary General of the Hizbullah Party, made a long videotaped statement released on Wednesday. Nasrallah said he approved of the plan passed by the Lebanese cabinet headed by PM Fouad Siniora, to send 15,000 Lebanese troops […]

Najaf Bombed 60 Percent of Voters Oppose War. Dozens of police were wounded and some may have been killed by a suicide bombing in the holy city of Najaf. Najaf has the shrine of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and if anything ever happened to it, all hell would break loose. […]