Juan Cole

Kamal Sayid Qadir Jailed for Criticism of Barzani The proto-fascist mini-state of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Arbil [Irbil], northern Iraq, has sentenced an Austrian-Kurdish journalist to 18 months in prison for criticizing Massoud Barzani. Barzani Barzani last allied with Saddam Hussein against fellow Kurds as late as 1996, only a decade ago. And you […]

Dozens Kidnapped, Killed, Wounded A car bomb wounded 11 in an attack on police in the norther part of the city of Hilla. Guerrillas killed two US soldiers in separate incidents and wounded 3, at an installation near to Baghdad. Three guerrilla cells kidnapped 24 Iraqis in Baghdad on Tuesday, from 2 electronics shops and […]

As Many as 90 Killed Badr Demands Khalilzad’s Expulsion A suicide bomber struck an army recruiting station near Tal Afar in northern Iraq, killing 40 and wounding 20. President Bush recently lauded the situation in Tal Afar and environs as a US success story. About 29 corpses corpses showed up in the streets of Baghdad, […]

Afghan Convert Released The Afghan authorities have released Abdul Rahman, a convert from Islam to Christianity who was facing a death sentence for apostacy. Apparently the grounds for the release were procedural– questions linger about the man’s mental health, and there are gaps in the prosecution’s evidence. That this travesty is being ended is a […]

Cole on Television I’ll be interviewed in the ABC Evening News Monday evening. Also I’ll be a guest on the Lehrer Show, PBS.

69 Killed in Separate Outbreaks of Violence All hell broke loose in Iraq on Sunday, but I’m darned if I can figure out most of what happened or why. It seems possible that the US committed two major military blunders that will worsen its relationship with Iraqi political forces. So they found 30 decapitated bodies […]

40 Casualties in Mahdi Army clash with Sunni Arab guerrillas AP reports that major clashes were fought Saturday at Mahmudiyah south of Baghdad between Mahdi Army militiamen (puritanical Shiites) and local Sunni Arab guerrillas killed or wounded about 50 persons late on Saturday. AP writes, ‘ Some 40 persons reportedly were killed or injured — […]

Year Four of Iraq Civil War: 51 Killed AP reports that guerrilla violence in Iraq killed 51 on Friday. In addition to bombings and drive-by shootings, police discovered 25 bodies, killed execution-style, in Kadhimiyah and Binok districts. (Kadhimiyah is largely Shiite). AP adds, “The rising death toll among Iraqis on Friday included five worshippers killed […]

Police Strike in Fallujah Tal Afar Success Questioned Alzaman/Reuters report that the police in Fallujah went on strike. They are protesting excesses committed by the largely Shiite Iraqi army troops installed in Sunni Fallujah by the Americans. A military spokesman in Baghdad maintained that any excesses were isolated incidents. It seems that even after the […]