Juan Cole

Humanitarian Crisis looms in Basra Reuters reports that a high UN official has raised the specter of a serious humanitarian crisis (i.e. lots of people dying) in Basra this summer. The problem is that there is only half as much potable water as people need for a population of 1.3 million, and the temperature has […]

National Congress Postponed Fighting in Nasiriyah In a sign that the political situation in Iraq is even worse than anyone had suspected, the caretaker Iraqi government has had to postpone the holding of national congress until mid-August. The complicated selection process for choosing delegates had favored the expatriate parties and politicians, and had stirred up […]

The Kerry Plan on Iraq: How it Could Work if the UN were Brought In In his speech to the National Democratic Convention, John Kerry devoted a few passages to Iraq. He said: “I know what we have to do in Iraq. We need a president who has the credibility to bring our allies to […]

120 Dead in Bombings, Clashes in Iraq 4 US Troops Killed Wire services report that 120 persons died in separate incidents in Iraq on Wednesday, the one-month anniversary of the “transfer of sovereignty” to the caretaker government of Iyad Allawi. The NYT says that guerrillas detonated a truck bomb outside a police recruiting station in […]

Cheney Watch Vice President Dick Cheney gave his stump speech in Utah on Wednesday, attempting to rally the Republican faithful while the national spotlight remained on the Democrats. Rebecca Walsh reports: Cheney said terrorists are as determined to destroy America as the “Axis powers” of Germany, Italy and Japan during World War II. Borrowing a […]

Iraqi Economy in Travail Ken Dilanian reports on the woes of the Iraqi economy. His general impression is that unemployment remains between 28 percent and 50 percent; that foreign investment is not coming in; that expatriate Iraqis are not investing; and that among the biggest setbacks was the stupid American decision to besiege Fallujah and […]

Arguing with Cheney Reuters reports that Dick Cheney was doing some counter-programming to the Democratic National Convention by speaking on the West Coast at Camp Pendleton. He said, “Terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength. They are invited by the perception of weakness.” This statement is half right and half wrong. Some […]

14 US Troops wounded by Mortar Fire in Baghdad 3 Iraqis die in Violence Paul Garwood of AP reports that on Tuesday, guerrillas successfully launched four or five mortars at the Green Zone in Baghdad that houses the caretaker government and the British and American embassies, wounding 14 US troops. Eleven were returned to duty. […]

Sunni Iraqis adopt Religious Radicalism Others Support Saddam Dan Murphy of the Christian Science Monitor reports on the way in which Sunni Iraqis are turning toward Salafi Islam. Salafis are sort of militantly Protestant Sunnis who reject the canons of medieval scholarship and strive to go back to the practice of the Prophet and his […]