Juan Cole

VP Jaafari slams US Iraqi vice-president Ibrahim Jaafari, a leader of the Shiite al-Da`wa Party, vehemently criticized the US in an interview in El Pais (Spain). He said the US had ridden into Iraq “like “an elephant astride its war machine.” He said it was a mistake to dissolve the Iraqi army and to leave […]

Cheney Implies Perpetual War Dick Cheney’s statement that if Americans elected John Kerry they would suffer another terrorist attack like 9/11 has provoked outrage among Democrats. But what is interesting to me is the policy implications. Cheney seems to be saying that the reason there won’t be another attack if he is reelected is because […]

Iraq Developments A roadside bomb in Baghdad killed one US soldier and wounded two others. Another roadside bomb, near Balad north of the capital, killed one soldier and wounded another. The US bombed Fallujah again, killing 6 Iraqis and wounding 23. Guerrillas kidnaped the deputy governor of al-Anbar Province, Col Ismail Al Ayal, on Wednesday. […]

AIPAC Blitz on Capitol Hill The way in which the FBI investigation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Israeli links to the pro-Likud clique in the Pentagon may be derailed through AIPAC’s manipulation of Congress is laid out by Hans Nichols in The Hill. Past such charges with regard to AIPAC and its […]

Dual Loyalties Many readers have written me to express concern about my safety and/or reputation since I have spoken out frankly on the horrible Likud policies of stealing Palestinian lands and brutalizing them with occupation. I’m not a babe in the woods, and I know very well that saying these things is taboo in American […]

Italian Hostages Anne Aldridge writes from Italy: Here for your readers is the site of the Italian pacifist organization whose two volunteers, Simona and Simona, were kidnaped yesterday. It has some English pages. This is an opportunity for Al Jazira, Al arabiya or any other media to show their power to move Iraqi public opinion. […]

Heavy Fighting in Sadr City, Fallujah US Military Deaths Pass 1000 Jeff Gray of The Toronto Globe and Mail reports The U.S. military death toll in Iraq passed 1,000 yesterday, a statistic that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry called a “tragic milestone” and that some analysts said could play an important role in the race […]

Cheney, Halliburton and Iraq: The Purloined Letter Why was Dick Cheney so eager to invade Iraq? Why did he repeatedly link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda after September 11, and why did he maintain that not only did Iraq have weapons of mass destruction but that he, Cheney, knew exactly where they were? Cheney clearly came […]

Sistani Holds Political Meetings in Najaf Guerrilla War Continues in Mosul, Baghdad, Kirkuk Hundreds of residents of Najaf mounted a demonstration on Monday, for the second straight day, against Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army. Demonstrators shouted, “Take you hands off the city! The people of Najaf do not want you!” They also called the […]