Juan Cole

The Third Baath Coup? If, as I have argued, the Baathists along with some Salafi (Sunni fundamentalist) allies are behind the guerrilla war, what do they want? They want to drive the Americans out of Iraq and make a third Baath coup, putting the Shiite genie back in its bottle and restoring Sunni Arab primacy. […]

Allawi: “Pockets” Will not be Able to Vote Michael Georgy of the Scotsman reports from Baghdad that interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi admitted on Tuesday that “pockets” of Iraq won’t be able to vote on January 30 because of poor security. I suspect the pockets amount to about 3 million persons. Georgy also says […]

US Soldier Killed in Samarra, 15 Iraqis Killed Guerrillas set off a car bomb at the police station in Tikrit Monday, killing 6 policemen and wounding between 8 and 12. Tikrit is Saddam Hussein’s home town. Near Yusufiyah, guerrillas detonated a roadside bomb as a US convoy was passing, followed by a civilian minibus. The […]

Electoral Lists A kind person in Baghdad sent me this. It is a translation of an official announcement from last month, which appeared in a Kuwaiti newspaper. It is a complete listing of the parties, coalitions and individuals that are contesting the January 30 elections. (Note that the Iraqi Islamic Party has since withdrawn). Note […]

US Rejects Sunni Demand for Withdrawal Timetable 2 US troops Killed, along with Baghdad Deputy Police Commissioner and Iraqi Police, Guards The US rejected on Monday a proposal from the Sunni Association of Muslims Scholars that the US declare a timetable for withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, in return for which the AMS would […]

The New Contours of American Militarism David Ignatius of the Washington Post has a column on Tuesday concerning US options in Iraq. He reports three scenarios from Washington insiders: 1) reduce the number of US troops in hopes that the Sunni Arabs will accommodate themselves to the new Shiite-dominated government, and vice versa; 2) Go […]

US Kills as many as 12 Innocents; 7 Ukrainians die in Blast US troops south of Baghdad near Yusufiyah ran into a roadside bomb near a checkpoint the night of Saturday into Sunday, and immediately opened fire. Apparently they did so indiscriminately, however, killing at least 2 Iraqi policemen and three civilians, though some reports […]

Sistani: Sunnis Must have Effective Participation Al-Hayat: [What follows is a paraphrase:] A source close to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf affirmed Saturday that the new permanent constitution for Iraq must not be sectarian in character, whatever the results of the elections to be held on January 30. He said that “The center of […]

Election Woes Nancy Yousef of Knight Ridder reports from Baghdad that campaigning for the January 30 elections has worsened ethnic tensions. Her interviews with university students reveal that the Shiites she talked to are determined to vote, where the Sunnis are afraid to do so, having received death threats. Speaking of death threats, she reveals […]