Juan Cole

4 US Troops Killed Election Violence in Najaf, Mosul Guerrillas killed four GIs in separate incidents, some with small arms fire. A suicide bomber targeted an Iraqi army unit in Balad and killed one soldier and wounded 11 others. Aljazeera on early Sunday morning was reporting 6 US troops dead, but the wire services were […]

Iraq Round-Up for Saturday Eric Black’s interview with me about the upcoming Iraq elections is at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Clerics are using the mosque to try to get out the vote for the parties they favor on December 15. Iraqi Academics are at severe risk. A recent poll in several Arab countries shows that […]

Guest Editorial: Achcar on Sadr Initiative “A PAN-IRAQI PACT ON MUQTADA AL-SADR’S INITIATIVE Gilbert Achcar December 9, 2005 As part of his effort to influence the political forces in Iraq prior to the forthcoming parliamentary election, at the end of November Muqtada al-Sadr had his supporters distribute the draft of a “Pact of Honor,” and […]

43 Killed, 70 Wounded by Bus Bomber And Rumsfeld’s False Analogy A suicide bomber jumped on a bus in Baghdad just as it was about to head south for Nasiriyah on Thursday, eluding security. The bus was lifted by gigantic fingers of flame, reaching out to kill and wound bystanders, as well. Some 43 were […]

Talabani to Meet with Resistance Leaders; Shiite Coalition in Friction Al-Hayat: President Jalal Talabani [Ar. ULR] is preparing a meeting in Sulaimaniyah to be attended by the Americans and by leaders of the underground Sunni Arab guerrilla movement. US Ambassador Khalilzad has announced that he would be willing to talk to any groups save the […]

Cole and Franken Al Franken is in Ann Arbor and I’ll be on with him today, in the studio at 1-2 pm EST. It should also be available in streaming video.

Bush praises Mosul, Najaf Unrest in Kurdistan President Bush in his speech on Thursday maintained that it was a good thing that about half of Ninevah province voted in the referendum on the new constitution. The Washington Post points out that Ninevah voted overwhelming against the constitution, and came within an hair’s breadth of helping […]

Election Violence in Egypt Kills 8 Afghanistan Bombing kills 2 Election violence claimed at least 8 lives in Egypt on Wednesday, and wounded dozens. The Muslim Brotherhood has vastly increased its representation in parliament, giving it them clout to further Islamize the law in Egypt. There will be over 80 members of parliament from the […]

Dean v. Bush: “Winning” in Iraq Or Winning Smart? Speaking in San Antonio on Monday, Democratic National Committee head Howard Dean said that the US cannot win in Iraq. The link just given, to WOAI, allows you to listen to the interview. He called for bringing the national guards home from Iraq immediately. Excerpts: ‘ […]