Juan Cole

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 […]

Iraqi Electoral Commission Announced Nathan J. Brown of George Washington University writes: “On 31 May, Bremer signed an order creating an Iraqi electoral commission. The order was not published until today, and then only in English. The electoral commission order gas several interesting features: It is based very much on the the interim constitution (TAL), […]

28 Killed, 88 Wounded in Iraq on Sunday Ash-Sharq al-Awsat estimates that bombings, drive-by shootings and other acts of guerrilla violence took 28 lives in Iraq on this weekend, and left more than 88 wounded. A car bomb outside a US base killed nine Iraqis and wounded 30; 3 US troops were among the wounded. […]

Iranian Hardliners and Iraq Informal Irainian volunteers have come forward in the thousands for suicide bombings against the Americans in Iraq. They say, however,that they await the command of Supreme Jrisprudent Ali Khamenei. Ayatollah Jannati had also preached strongly against the US and the UK last Friday. He is not in the exective really and […]

Reagan’s Passing I did not say anything yesterday about Ronald Reagan’s death. The day a person dies he has a right to be left alone. But yesterday is now history, and Reagan’s legacy should not pass without comment. Reagan had an ability to project a kindly image, and was well liked personally by virtually everyone […]

Sistani Meets Muqtada; Ceasefire Taking Hold Fighting continued Saturday in East Baghdad. A roadside bomb killed two US soldiers and wounded two others. Mahdi Army militiamen attacked a police station and the police were supported by US troops in returning fire. They killed at least one militiaman. In contrast, Najaf began returning to normal on […]

5 US Troops Killed, 5 wounded New Accord in Najaf Five US troops were killed and five wounded on Friday while patrolling near East Baghdad (Sadr City) when their humvees were rocketed. It seems likely that they were targeted by the Mahdi Army, which US troops have been fighting for the past two months. Ash-Sharq […]

Al-Haeri’s Conditions ash-Sharq al-Awsat: Old-time al-Da`wa leader in exile, Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri, issued a statement Friday from Qom, Iran, on the caretaker government in Iraq. He said there were 6 things it needed to do to demonstrate its patriotic credentials and gain acceptance. These were 1. To recover complete sovereignty that is unconstrained and the […]

The situation in Iraq acutely threatens Israeli security From Friday’s Daily Star By Juan Cole Friday, June 04, 2004 As the American public gradually wearies of the Iraq crisis, some have begun worrying that the war could blow back on the US by creating the conditions for anti-American terrorism. Israel, however, is much closer to […]