Juan Cole

Iraq War not Worth it: 52% of Americans A new Washington Post/ABC poll shows that a majority of Americans now feels that the Iraq War was not worth it. It cost too many US lives, according to 70% of them, and 51% thought that it had not made Americans any safer. Not only has President […]

Najaf Calming; Police to be Trained in Urban Warfare Al-Hayat reports that previous disputes between Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and junior cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have now been completely resolved. One last step has been the appointment of a new prayer leader at the mosque connected to the shrine of Ali, who would be neither a […]

US Marine Killed; 23 Iraqis Killed in Separate Attacks; US Helicopters mistakenly Kill 5 Policemen at Samarra’ Wire services report several violent incidents on Sunday. Anbar province: Guerrillas fighting US troops in Anbar Province, which covers Ramadi and Fallujah, killed a US Marine on Sunday. The Marines killed 4 of the guerrillas. Baghdad: Guerrillas ambushed […]

National Congress Planned; Muqtada Invited Chalabi mediates with Kurds Al-Hayat: On Sunday, the preparatory board met to begin planning a national congress of 1000 notables, politicians, religious leaders and tribal sheikhs to be held in July. It will involve twenty members of the old Interim Governing Council, including Sheikh Abdul Karim al-Muhammadawi, against whom an […]

Thousands of Indian Shiites Protest US Policies in Iraq Thousands of Indian Shiites came out into the streets of New Delhi Sunday to protest harsh US policies in Iraq and to demand that the United Nations take the leading role in putting the country back on its feet. They were supported by Hindu friends. The […]

Controversy at UC Irvine over Muslim Witness to Faith The Orange County Register reports a controversy over graduation ceremonies at the University of California Irvine, where 11 Muslim students had been planning to wear green stoles with Islamic inscriptions over their robes. One side would say “Lord, increase my knowledge.” The other would have the […]

3 Wounded by Bomb at Central Bank; 22 Guerrillas Die in Fallujah Bombing Guerrillas detonated a bomb outside Iraq’s central bank in Baghdad on Sunday, wounding 2 employees and a guard. Guerrillas blew up another bomb in a crowded market in Baghdad on Sunday, injuring at least 5. Fighting continued near the eastern city of […]

Pepe Escobar’s interview with me on Iraq at the Asia Times is available online. An excerpt: ATol: Let’s start with the credibility of the Iraqi caretaker government vis-a-vis the Sunnis, Shi’ites and Kurds, more than vis-a-vis the US and the UN. Virtually everyone in the Sunni triangle and also in the Shi’ite south used to […]

One US Soldier Killed, 3 Injured along with Contractor AP reports that guerrillas set off a roadide bomb in the Kamalaya district of Baghdad, after which snipers on rooftops fired at US troops, wounding three. The latter returned fire, inflicting some casualties on the guerrillas. Later in the day, guerrillas fired six mortar shells into […]