Juan Cole

Dems Press for Iraq Investigation Toward A Unified Field Theory of the Fraud? Senator Harry Reid, backed by Senators Charles Schumer and Debbie Stabenow, invoked an arcane rule of the senate allowing it to be closed on Tuesday. Reid and the Democrats were protesting the inaction of the Senate Intelligence Committee, headed by Pat Roberts […]

Talabani Opposes Military Action against Syria Admits Helplessness Some 20 Iraqis were killed or wounded in guerrilla violence on Tuesday. In one incident, a 13 year old boy carried out a suicide bombing that killed the head of the emergency police in Kirkuk. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday before the United Nations: “I categorically […]

Car Bomb Kills 20 in Basra 7 US Troops Killed Bombing near Qaim Guerrilla violence in Iraq killed 7 GIs on Monday, making October the deadliest month in Iraq for US troops since the January 30, 2005, elections. Al-Zaman/ AFP/ DPA: Monday evening, guerrillas detonated a car bomb in the middle of Basra, killing at […]

Libby Replaced by Scandal-Ridden Aides Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney replaced his indicted chief of staff, Irving Lewis Libby on Monday with two problematic figures– David Addington and John Hannah. As Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel note, Addington is the author of legal memos justifying torture of prisoners held by the US abroad, in direct […]

Mosul Leaders Threaten to Join Guerrilla Movement Protest Firing of Police Commissioner Al-Zaman: Cabinet member Adil Abdul Mahdi’s brother was assassinated on Sunday. A government oil company official in Kirkuk was assassinated. There were about a dozen announced deaths in guerrilla violence on Sunday. Guerrillas detonated a bomb in Fallujah, killing two Iraqi soldiers; a […]

Top Five Resignations the American People Should Demand In the Wake of Libby’s Indictment Apologize? Apologize? Is that all the US Democratic leadership can demand from George W. Bush after it was confirmed that his key aides and those of Vice President Cheney planned a petty campaign of retribution against a distinguished foreign service officer […]

26 Killed by Car Bomb North of Baquba 3 US GIs Killed Guerrillas in a Shiite village near Baqubah, northeast of Baghdad, detonated a huge truck bomb on Saturday, killing at least 26 innocent bystanders. In separate violence, 3 US GIs were killed, and US air forces attacked suspected guerrilla strongholds in western Iraq. The […]

Sistani May Call for US Withdrawal Party Coalitions are Finalized The intrepid Hamza Hendawi of AP gets the scoop: Aides around Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the chief spiritual leader of Iraqi Shiites, are broadly hinting that after the December 15 elections, he may begin a Gandhi-like campaign to demand a timetable for the withdrawal of […]

New Word: “To libby” It seems to me that we may have the makings of a new lexical entry, what with the indictment and resignation of Irving Lewis “Scooter” Libby. It strikes me that “Libby” is close to “fib.” So “to libby” would have the connotations of “to tell a falsehood.” But it is also […]