Juan Cole

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 […]

Destruction of Key Bridge Halts Southern Rails Muqtada Aide Declares East Baghdad an American no-go Zone Ash-Sharq al-Awsat: Guerillas blew up a key bridge just south of Baghdad Friday, halting rail traffic to four southern provinces from the capital, including Hilla, Amara, Nasiriyah, and Basra. Meanwhile, the port of Basra was unable to export any […]

Iraqi Impotence in Every Sense Viagra importation and use is way up in Iraq. Pharmacists say that the violence and tension has reduced Iraqi libido, so more men need help to get interested in sex. The pills are being smuggled or imported. The psycho-biological effects of national crisis are increasingly easy to trace in this […]

42 Killed, 138 Wounded in 3 Thursday Bombings Coalition Soldier Among Dead The LA Times reports that guerrillas detonated two enormous bombs in Iraq on Thursday. A suicide bomber blew up an Iraqi army recruitment office in downtown Baghdad. He killed 35 Iraqis and injured 138, according to Baghdad health authorities. Later on Thursday, a […]

Bush and Cheney Stick with the Cover Story On Thursday both President Bush and Vice President Cheney stuck with their assertions of a close tie between Saddam Hussein and Usamah Bin Laden. Cheney even had the nerve to attack the New York Times for daring to report the findings of the 9/11 commission that there […]

Prince of the Marshes in Legal Trouble The LA Times has picked up a story that had already hit the London press two weeks ago, having to do with Abdul Karim Mahoud al-Muhammadawi, against whom murder accusations have surfaced. Known by his nom de guerre of Abu Hatim (Abu Hatem), Sheikh al-Muhammadawi began waging guerrilla […]