Juan Cole

Cruel Thanksgiving in Iraq Over 50 Dead Over 50 Iraqis were killed and 47 wounded in separate attacks on Thursday. In Mahmudiyah just south of Baghdad, a bomber detonated his payload outside a hospital, killing some 30 persons and wounding 27. Among the wounded were 4 US GIs. AFP reports, “Also, the US military reported […]

White Phosphorus Round-up George Monbiot of the Guardian weighs in on the current state of the debate on the US military’s use of white phosphorus at Fallujah. I think he is too categorical about many ambiguous issues. Long-time readers know that I am from a military family, and I want to be very careful about […]

Dulaim Chief’s Murder Splits Iraqis Guerrillas detonated another bomb in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 2 and wounding another 2. The murder of Khadim Sarhid al-Hamaiyim, leader of a branch of the Dulaim tribe, on the outskirts of Baghdad, has been interpreted in different ways by Iraq’s ethnic groups. The hard line Sunni Association of Muslim […]

Bush as Press Assassin? Baathist in a Mirror The Mirror broke the story on Tuesday that a secret British memo demonstrates that George W. Bush wanted to bomb Aljazeera’s offices in Doha, Qatar, in spring of 2004. The subject came up with Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK, and Blair is said to have […]

Massacre in Kirkuk Bush Suppressed CIA Report exonerating Saddam of al-Qaeda Ties On Wednesday morning, a shaikh of the Dulaim tribe and 3 sons and a son-in-law were shot dead in West Baghdad. The Dulaim are mostly strong Sunnis and many Dulaim in Anbar province are part of the guerrilla movement. AP reports that in […]

Iraqis ask for Withdrawal Timetable AP reports on the results of the Cairo national reconciliation conference, attended by the major Iraqi political factions, including Sunni Arabs. Al-Hayat gives the orginal Arabic wording of some articles of the agreement. One provision says, “We demand the withdrawal of foreign forces in accordance with a timetable, and the […]

Sharon’s Critique of the Authoritarian Likud Party Ariel Sharon’s resignation from the Likud Party is a more forceful critique of that party than any I have offered. Likudniks are notoriously unable to deal with being criticized, so my simple and accurate characterization of the party as having colonialist and fascistic tendencies has driven its acolytes […]

Guest Editorial on Murtha: Achcar & Shalom “On John Murtha’s Position” by Gilbert Achcar and Stephen R. Shalom There is much of which to approve in the recent speech of Rep. John P. Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania, on Iraq. The hawkish Murtha had been critical of the Bush administration’s handling of the war for some […]

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