Juan Cole

US-Pakistan Relations “Broad-Based” Four Suspected al-Qaeda Captured in Peshawar Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence along with, probably, the FBI arrested four foreign Muslims in Peshawar on Thursday. They are: Abdul Aziz of Kunduz,Afghanistan; Mustafa, a Turk; Sulaiman, a Spaniard; and Tulan, a Russian Muslim. The four are suspected of being al-Qaeda. Pakistani intelligence has tracked down and […]

Shahristani Denounces ex-Baath Sunnis in Parliament Child malnutrition has soared in Iraq under the Americans, according to a former Official. Al-Zaman: Hussein Shahristani, a prominent member of the United Iraqi Alliance, affirmed that his bloc in parliament would work to prevent any former members of the Baath Party from filling positions in the new government. […]

Provincial Council Gives Najaf Mayor Prerogative to Appoint Police Chief Al-Zaman: The governing council of Najaf province charged Najaf mayor As`ad Abu Kalal (Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq or SCIRI) with the responsibility for the police force in the city, so as to resolve the disputes about who should be police chief. The […]

Parliament Fiasco Mortar shells landed in the green zone near parliament at one point during its meeting on Tuesday, emptying the room briefly of frantic reporters, according to al-Hayat. The wrangling over cabinet posts continued, with the petroleum ministry coveted by both Shiites and Kurds. The United Iraqi Alliance rejected as candidate for speaker of […]

Car Bomb Targeting Shiites Kills 7, Wounds 9 The war in Iraq is the most important problem facing the US in the eyes of the American public, according to a recent poll. Iraq is more important than the economy, terrorism or social security. You’d think the US media and the Democratic Party could take a […]

Florida Funeral Director Buries Universities Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, has introduced a Horowitz-inspired so-called Academic Freedom Bill of Rights in the Florida State legislature. In our Orwellian world, this is actually a bill to destroy academic freedom and take away rights of free speech on campus. Baxley is a funeral director, and apparently he wants […]

Dutchess Community College Stands up for Academic Freedom More on the subject from a different state (this thing is spreading like the Black Plague). “Professional Staff OrganizationDutchess Community College24 March 2005 In response to the “Academic Bill of Rights” (ABOR), currently under consideration by SUNY administration, the Professional Staff Organization (PSO) of Dutchess Community College […]

Hariri Likely Killed by Truck Bomb The truck, parts of which the UN had alleged were planted by the Syrian government has been identified in a video broadcast by al-Arabiya. This discovery bolsters the case for Hariri’s death having been the work of a suicide bomber, Abu Adas, a radical Muslim who had travelled in […]

No Government and 16 Dead US Generals revealed on Sunday that a) guerrillas in Iraq are able to keep the number of attacks at about 60 a day and b) that the proportion of fighters that is foreign jihadis has increased somewhat in the past few months. (The proportion seems to have been about 5 […]