Juan Cole

Two Dozen Dead in Violence Sistani, Yaqubi Aides Trade Insults Al-Hayat reports that [Ar.] the Civil War left 20 Iraqis and 5 US troops dead on Thursday. There were clashes between the Marines and guerrillas in Ramadi and Fallujah. An official building in Fallujah for municipal and military affairs took mortar fire. At least two […]

Maliki said Near to Forming Government Turks shell Kurdish village It is being alleged that Prime Minister designate Nuri al-Maliki will present his cabinet to parliament on Saturday. If he fails, according to the constitution, the president will have to ask someone else to form the government. (Though Iraqi politicians are dismissing any need to […]

42 Iraqis, 3 GIS Dead in Civil War The Iraqi Civil War took the lives of another 42 persons on Tuesday. The most horrible attack was in the Shaab district of the capital. Drivers of two minibuses attacked a market. The first shot 7 persons down, then when a crowd gathered, a second minibus driver […]

George W. Nixon George W. Bush’s Iraq misadventure has made him among the least-liked presidents in modern history, according to an ABC News/ Washington Post poll. Even Lyndon B. Johnson in the dark days of 1967-1968 was at 43 percent! And he had to decline to seek a second term over it! With regard to […]

Middle East Conflicts on Campus Scott Jaschik discussed the disputes on college campuses, especially UC-Irvine, over the Middle East. Yours truly makes a cameo appearance, as does the petition I started to defend John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt from scurrilous charges of bigotry. I don’t actually think things are as heated on most campuses over […]

The Nation: Soccer and Punishing Iran The Nation looks at the global politics of soccer with reference to Iran. Americans don’t realize it, but soccer politics is what makes most of the world go round.

33 Dead in Civil War 7 US Troops Killed over Weekend Basra in Chaos as Tribes Feud On Monday, scattered bombings and shootings left at least 33 persons dead by my count. Dozens more died over the weekend in fighting between guerrillas and US troops. Al-Zaman says that security has collapsed in Basra, with fighting […]

Monday Afternoon Scandals David Swanson says that angry veterans surrounded and berated Richard Perle, a major architect of the Iraq War, when he showed up at one of their events for a PBS photo op. Raw Story says that the Bush administration is tracing the telephone calls of ABC and other reporters in an attempt […]

Guerrilla Violence Kills 48Al-Maliki May announce Government without Interior, Defence On Monday morning, guerrillas in the south launched a mortar barrage of 40 shells against the British Abu Naji base near Amara, wounding 4 British soldiers. Two had been killed by a roadside bomb on Saturday. This sort of operation strikes me as likely to […]