Juan Cole

Bremer: Bush Administration Never saw Iraq Insurgency Coming Paul Bremer, who ruled Iraq for a year after the fall of Saddam, was asked about his decision to dissolve the Iraqi army in May of 2003. “We really didn’t see the insurgency coming,” he said. Gee, Mr. Bremer was spending too much time hanging out with […]

130 Killed, Over 200 Wounded in Two Huge Bombings, Other Attacks Al-Hakim Blames Coalition for Holding Shiite Commandos Back Al-Hayat [Ar.]: Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Shiite Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SCIRI] and head of the dominant United Iraqi Alliance in parliament, blamed Coalition forces (including, implicitly, the US) and “local […]

Guest Editorial: The end of the Sharon Era The end of the Sharon Era, Time for a New Beginning? by Mark LeVineProfessor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Irvine ‘ As Ariel Sharon clings to his life after suffering a major stroke, commentators across the globe, including many Arab leaders, are predicting the […]

Massive Campaign of Violence Kills 68, Wounds Dozens; Bush Says Guerrillas Marginalized A horrific day unfolded in Iraq on Wednesday, with a massive bomb at a funeral, a daring raid that destroyed fuel tankers, and deadly bombings and shootings all over the center-north of the country, even reaching into the south. President Bush’s and Vice […]

On Removing pro-Baath Books from the Libraries in Iraq At the news on Wednesday that the Debaathification committee in Iraq will remove from university libraries all books positive toward the Baath party, Middle East expert Keith Watenpaugh writes: “Functionally this decision to “cleanse Iraqi universities and its libraries from the vestiges of the Baath” could […]

Abramoff and al-Arian: Lobbyist’s “Charity” a Front for Terrorism The guilty plea of fabulously wealthy and highly corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff raised the question of whether he would roll over on congressmen involved in illegal fundraising and other crimes with him. Some twenty Republicans on Capitol Hill are said to be in danger. Abramoff’s dense […]

Human Rights Violations in Iraq Or, the Clay Feet of the Model Iraq The Model I: The US military observed guerrillas in Beiji planting a roadside bomb and kept them under surveillance as they went to a house, then called down a bombing raid on the house. Unfortunately there was a civilian family of 14 […]

Cole on Air America I will be on the Al Franken Show at 1 pm Wednesday. If you miss that (or are a glutton for punishment) I’ll also be on The Majority Report on Wednesday at 8:25.

Iraqi Military Delegation to Iran Carries US Message Secular Sunni Arabs cry Political Betrayal The sister of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr was kidnapped on Tuesday. Three months ago, his brother had been kidnapped. Al-Hayat [Ar.] reports that Salih Mutlak of the secular Sunni National Dialogue Council accused the (Sunni) National Accord Front of “political betrayal” […]