Juan Cole

Disputes Prevent Selection of Tamim Governor (Kirkuk) al-Zaman/ AFP: An Iraqi official in Tamim province describes the situation in the city of Kirkuk. Disputes among Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs have prevented the newly elected provincial council from being seated, and therefore they have been unable to select a governor. He said that Kirkuk is a […]

Guerrilla War Leaves 24 Dead in Iraq The Financial Times reports that guerrilla actions, including bombings and ambushes, left at least 24 persons dead on Thursday in Iraq. There were bombs in Baghdad, as well as shootings and assassinations elsewhere. Police were killed near Kirkuk and a bomb exploded in Basra, hurting two civilian passersby […]

Secret Service Still Hasn’t Caught Bin Laden Shouldn’t the Secret Service be out trying to find Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri?. The most prominent organized group that I know of trying to kill the president is at large, its leaders taunting us. So how are we using our Secret Service to best effect? The Chicago Sun-Times […]

Oil for Food Scandal taints (gasp!) Houston We’ve had to put up for months with blowhards like Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota jumping up and down about the Iraq food for oil scandal at the United Nations. Coleman even called for the resignation of Kofi Annan, who hasn’t been shown to have behaved improperly himself. […]

At least 17 Killed by Bombs, 4 US Contractors Wounded AP reports that guerrillas detonated a car bomb near a US convoy, killing five Iraqis and wounding 4 US contractors. Two other explosions in the capital did little damage. A fourth set a fuel tanker ablaze near two US Humvees. AP adds: “Near Kirkuk, 12 […]

Neoconning the Media Eric Alterman’s “Neoconning the Media: A Short History of Neoconservatism” is a must-read account of the movement and its main institutions and media outlets. Alterman lists “half of the New Republic” as among the assets of the Neocons. That’s about right, though I suspect that the other half (In the Barefoot And […]

At least 10 Dead in Deadly blasts in Mosul, Telafar Wire services report that a suicide bomber killed five Iraqis in Mosul, and another killed five Iraqis in the largely Turkmen city of Telafar. Guerrillas attempted to assassinate a deputy interior minister, but killed his bodyguard and injured three others, while he escaped. On Monday, […]

Demonstration in Samarra Ash-Sharq al-Awsat/ AFP: Hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated Tuesday in Samarra, demanding the withdrawal of American troops from their city. Clan elders and school and university students participated in the rally, which came in response to a call from the municipal council and the Association of Muslim Scholars. The demonstrators gathered close to […]

Iraq News Roundup Ash-Sharq al-Awsat does a report on Fallujah in which it alleges that of the residents who have returned after the US assault, many are living in tents because their homes are uninhabitable. It also says that Iraq is asking the UN Security Council formally to lift the sanctions and restrictions imposed on […]