Juan Cole

Bahrain Diplomat Wounded in Baghdad Bombing Near Iran Embassy The Bahraini charge d’affaires in Baghdad was shot in the hand while he was on his way to work Tuesday morning. He was taken to Yarmouk Hospital. This was likely an assassination attempt by guerrillas. Guerrillas also set off a bomb that targeted a US convoy […]

British Operations in Southern Iraq A British reservist writes: With regard to your recent comment regarding the South of Iraq: “Most of that area has fallen into the hands of religious Shiite militias anyway, and I doubt the British get out of their barracks all that much.” I returned last April from Basra after serving […]

Legalistic War A US military reader in Iraq writes: You wrote “These incidents show a benefit to the guerrillas of their car bomb attacks on US convoys, insofar as they create an atmosphere in which US soldiers and marines tend to shoot first and ask questions later, alienating ever more Iraqis by killing innocents”. ‘ […]

Egyptian Envoy Kidnapped Sunni Arab Demonstrations against SCIRI in Tikrit, Baghdad The chief of mission of the Egyptian embassy in Iraq was kidnapped late Saturday when he drove out to buy a newspaper, by two carloads of guerrillas who pistol-whipped him and accused him of being an American agent. Egypt was pressured by the US […]

Ahmadov on Iraq and Chechnya Guest comment from Azerbaijan comparing the Iraq and Chechnya Guerrilla Wars, by Dr. Alpay Ahmadov in Baku: . . . You cite Newsweek reports that Iraqi officials admit that the new security services are infiltrated and in detailed comment it. I would like to inform you that, the same happens […]

Saturday Toll 26 Killed, Nearly 50 Wounded Hilla Bombings Kill 6, Injure 26 Guerrilla violence killed 26 and injured nearly 50 altogether on Saturday. In Ramadi, a US helicopter caught fire while refueling, slighly injuring a crewman. The incident is being investigated. Associated Press reports that a guerrilla with a suicide bomb belt detonated his […]

Iranian-Iraqis returning, Expelling New Owners A reader writes from Iraq: “I picked up this document [Arabic pdf] from a disgruntled Iraqi in the Baghdad airport about a week ago.” [Cole: The Arabic petition complains that a regulation issued by Paul Bremer is having the effect of tossing him and many others out of their homes, […]

Breaking News: Iraq UN Ambassador Charges Marines with Murder of his Nephew Suicide Bomber Kills 20 at Police Recruitment Center Iraq’s ambassador to the UN, Samir Sumaidaie, said Saturday that US Marines shot his 21-year-old nephew as he was helping them carry out a search of his residence in Anbar province. The nephew had been […]

European Parliament Committee Calls for UN Command in Iraq Sistani Aide Killed in Baghdad The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has called for all foreign troops in Iraq to be replaced by a United Nations-led peace keeping force. It urged a trans-Atlantic (i.e. US and European) sharing of burdens in Iraq. It said […]