Juan Cole

Top Reasons You Wouldn’t Want a Mobile Biological Weapons Lab Not only did Bush and Cheney and Libby tell bare-faced lies about the alleged “mobile biological weapons labs” in Iraq, the idea of such never made any sense anyway. 1. How could you have a clean room in a mobile biological weapons laboratory? 2. Petrie […]

50 Dead in Violence Jaafari Refuses to Step Down Robert H. Reid of AP reports on deaths in Iraq on Tuesday: * The US announced the deaths of 5 US soldiers, 3 killed by a guerrilla bomb on Tuesday and another two on Sunday. * Guerrilla violence killed 23 Iraqis on Tuesday. Reid writes, “A […]

Iran Can Now Make glowing Mickey Mouse Watches Despite all the sloppy and inaccurate headlines about Iran “going nuclear,” the fact is that all President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday was that it had enriched uranium to a measely 3.5 percent, using a bank of 180 centrifuges hooked up so that they “cascade.” The ability […]

3 US troops Killed; Muqtada al-Sadr’s Bloc backs alternative to Jaafari The Pentagon announced Monday that 3 US soldiers had been killed. Sunni Arab leaders in Iraq affirmed again on Monday their opposition to Ibrahim Jaafari as candidate for prime minister from the Shiite fundamentalist United Iraqi Alliance. The Kurds said much the same thing […]

Political Gridlock, Violence, Continue Protests Against “Liberation” Day Violence left 16 dead and others wounded on Sunday, the anniversary of the fall of Saddam (see below). Shiite leaders met Sunday to attempt to resolve the gridlock over the formation of a new government led by Ibrahim Jaafari. It failed. Now the leaders say they will […]

Another Shrine hit, with 6 Dead Mubarak Warns on Civil War, US Withdrawal Reuters reports that guerrillas hit yet another Shiite shrine on Saturday this one at Musayyib, killing 6 and wounding 21 (-Al-Sharq al-Awsat). Guerrillas ambushed police in Baquba, wounding 4, along with 4 civilians. In a separate attack in that city, they managed […]

3 US Troops Killed Al-Saghir Blames Sunni Arab Parties, Press for Mosque Bombing The US military announced the deaths of 3 GIs in Iraq on Friday. Jalal al-Din al-Saghir is the Shiite politician who may have been targeted by the suicide bombing of the Buratha mosque on Friday that killed over 80 and wounded at […]

Breaking News: 78 Dead, Dozens Wounded in Shiite Mosque Attack Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports that suicide bombers detonated their bombs at the Shiite Buratha in the northwestern Baghdad just after Friday prayers ended but before the worshippers began exiting. KarbalaNews.net says that Iraqi security forces report that the bombers were mingling with the worshippers. It says […]

Wounded US Troops Face Lifetime of Disabilities Karbala Province breaks off Relations with US Reuters reports the other guerrilla violence in Iraq besides the car bombing in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, which killed at least 13 and wounded 40: ‘HASWA – Five civilians were killed and another two wounded when gunmen shot at […]