Juan Cole

Former British PM John Major Ties Iraq to Bomb Attacks Former British PM John Major said Monday to the BBC, ‘ “I think what has happened is not that the Iraq war and other policies created that threat, I think it was there and growing, though it was not in full bloom. “I think it […]

Cole in Bay Area, Mid-October I’m going to be giving a talk in northern California in mid-October. I often get requests to let organizations know when I’m in the area so they can have me speak. So, I’m letting you know.

Massive Baghdad Bomb Kills up to 40 Consensus collapsing on Constitution Al-Zaman/ AFP: A suicide car bombing killed 40 persons and wounded 25 when the driver detonated his payload near the al-Rashad Police Station in the Mashtal district of southeastern Baghdad, according to sources in the Minsitry of Defense. Among the dead and wounded were […]

London and Sharm el-Sheikh Investigations British police made a third arrest in their investigation of the July 21 attempted bombings of the London transportation system. They are attempting to reconstruct an al-Qaeda cell that recruited and facilitated the operation of the bombers. The investigation has now been complicated by the killing Friday of an innocent […]

Straw Backs Down on Iraq Link On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw backed off his categorical denial that the Iraq war had increased the likelihood of terrorist action against the UK. The assertion was not plausible and cost Straw and PM Tony Blair credibility with the British public. Former foreign secretary Robin Cook was […]

Is Bin Laden Ordering the Bombings around the World? The Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock quotes counter-terrorism experts who are beginning to wonder if Usama Bin Laden is ordering the terrorist attacks in places like Baghdad, London and Egypt. The consensus last spring was that al-Qaeda’s command and control structure had been extensively disrupted by the […]

Sharm el-Sheikh Deaths rise to 88 Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility The death toll at Sharm el-Sheikh had risen to 88 by late Saturday, with 200 wounded. Most of the dead were Egyptians. The attacks took place on a national holiday to commemorate the 1952 nationalist revolution. The young officers’ Revolutionary Command Council banned the fundamentalist Muslim […]

Aljazeera.net reports that the Sunni Arab walk-out from the constitution drafting committee appears to be ending. The talk is positive that remaining issues can be resolved by August 15. The Jaafari government will provide security to the Sunni members of the constitution writing committee, just as it does to members of parliament. Two Sunni Arab […]

State of Play in Taba Trial Some commentators are wondering if the Taba bombings of last fall are related to the Sharm el-Sheikh atrocity. I thought I’d archive this article about the Taba trial (which begins again on Sunday) below. al-Sharq al-Awsat for July 24 has an article quoting Egyptian Minister of the Interior Habib […]