Juan Cole

Muqtada Emerges Strengthened; Allawi calls for Dialogue Tom Lasseter of Knight Ridder argues from anecdotal evidence in Iraq that Muqtada al-Sadr has emerged from his battle with the Americans stronger than ever, despite the military defeat inflicted on his Mahdi Army. According to ash-Sharq al-Awsat, Allawi called on Muqtada al-Sadr to resort to “the language […]

Black Humor A friend in Baghdad sent me this. It is to laugh, it is to weep. Why Did the Chicken cross the Road? Coalition Provisional Authority: The fact that the Iraqi chicken crossed the road affirmatively demonstrates that decision-making authority has been transferred to the chicken well in advance of the scheduled June 30th […]

Cole on the Lehrer News Hour For those who like advanced warning, I will be on the Lehrer News Hour this evening discussion the new UN Resolution on Iraq.

Blast in Baquba Kills at least 5, Wounds 11; US troops among the wounded A suspected car bomb detonated at the gates of a US military base near the eastern city of Baquba early Tuesday. It killed one US soldier and four Iraqis, wounded at least 11, and also inflicted wounds on some US troops. […]

Bremer Bars Muqtada from Holding Office The Guardian reports that US civil administrator Paul Bremer signed an order Monday banning Muqtada al-Sadr and his lieutenants from running for elective office for 3 years because of their membership in an illegal militia. Muqtada and his lieutenants rejected this decree and said that the CPA and the […]

UN Security Council Vote expected Tuesday; Sistani Weighs in Against Interim Constitution The final details of the UN Security Council resolution, on the caretaker government to which the Bush administration maintains it will surrender sovereignty on June 30, have been worked out. The final draft will include a provision for a joint committee of high […]

Kurds Threaten Boycott The distribution of posts in the caretaker government disappointed the religious Shiites and the Kurds, both of whom felt stiffed. The Kurds only got one vice presidency and the foreign ministry, along with a couple of other lower-profile positions (Nasrin Barwari stayed on as Minister of Public Works, which is actually potentially […]

Dissolution of Militias Announced Transitional PM Iyad Allawi announced Monday that nine militias would be dissolved. Their members would receive pensions or would be merged into the police or new Iraqi military. This announcement should be seen as a pious hope rather than as a political reality. I can’t say how many times I have […]

Bush in Italy A reader writes from Italy: “The Italian administration’s scare tactics about the June 4 anti-Bush demonstrations reached the US media. All the world believed them. The center-left political leaders decided not to participate and abandon the scene to the crazies. Roman residents stayed home: subway traffic was down 60%, car traffic was […]