Juan Cole

21 Killed, 62 Injured Three big bombs went off in Iraq on Monday. One, in Baghdad, targeted foreign civilian contractors. The 13 dead from that bombing included 1 from the US, 2 from the UK, 1 from France, and 1 from the Philippines. Three worked for General Electric at power plants, and 2 were their […]

Bush’s European Allies Punished by their Publics J. Sean Curtin argues that Bush’s European allies have paid a heavy political price for supporting his Iraq war. Labor did extremely poorly in the European Union voting. Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party also did poorly in that election, as well as suffering losses in local elections. Bush’s friend […]

Marines Visit Fallujah, Cut Deal Az-Zaman: US Marines went into Fallujah on Monday, meeting with General Muhammad Latif, commander of the Fallujah Brigade, and the head of the local governing council, Saadu’llah al-Rawi. They signed an agreement on mutual confidence, with the US undertaking to release 50 Iraqis from Fallujah now in CPA prisons. The […]

Sistani to Consult with Kurds US Seeks Direct talks with Muqtada Az-Zaman: Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has decided to send a representative to Kurdistan to discuss the differences between him and the Kurdish leadership over Kurdish desires for a loose federalism that would give them substantial autonomy within Iraq. Sistani’s spokesman said that he wanted […]

Debt and Dollars in Iraq Guest Editorial David Chambers Middle East Institute Thursday’s BBC story entitled “Iraqi debt write-off divides G8” hovers over the heart of many inter-related problems concerning Iraq. The Group of Eight or “G8” remain unable to agree on how much of Iraq’s tens of billions of dollars in foreign debt should […]

Iranian Influence in Iraq Robin Wright of the Washington Post discusses the ways that US officials view Iran as seeking influence in Iraq. Her contacts confirm what I have also long suspected, which is that the Iranians are giving money to virtually all the major Shiite groups, and probably some of the Sunni and Kurdish […]

Ebadi: US War in Iraq set back Iran Human rights Barbara Slavin of USA Today profiles Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel prize winner for peace from Iran. Ebadi complains that the US war in Iraq has strengthened Islamic extremism in the region. Slavin reports her saying, ‘ the toppling of Saddam Hussein has strengthened Islamic fundamentalists […]

Powers: Internal War between CIA and Pentagon as bad as External Wars Mark Follman at Salon.com profiles Thomas Powers, author of “Intelligence Wars: American Secret History From Hitler to Al Qaeda.” Powers argues that the war between the CIA and the Pentagon is a third war for the US after Afghanistan and Iraq. He gives […]

Dr. Frank: The Cure for Bush’s Neuroses: Get him Out of Office Psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank puts George W. Bush on the couch and comes up with disturbing findings. The findings: 1. Sadism: ‘ the President has a “”lifelong streak of sadism, ranging from childhood pranks (using firecrackers to explode frogs) to insulting journalists, gloating […]