Juan Cole

Sunni-Shiite Unity at Abu Ghuraib demonstration The demonstration at Abu Ghuraib against the abuse of prisoners that I mentioned yesterday turns out to have been called for by the Board of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni clerical organization that is more powerful than usually recognized. The demonstration was said to have been several thousand strong, and […]

America in the Balance: Sex, Lies and Prison Abuse Guest Editorial Shahin Cole Most Muslims admire American democracy but disapprove of what they perceive as US moral laxity, according to polls. The revelations about the American treatment of Iraqi prisoners may damage faith in democracy, and reinforce disgust with immodest behavior. The photos of prisoner […]

Is it Torture? What does “is” mean? Demonstrators at Abu Ghuraib Demand Apology As Mark Rothschild pointed out, “ When asked by a reporter whether torture has taken place in Iraq, Rumsfeld said, “My impression is that what has been charged thus far is abuse, which I believe technically is different from torture.” He added […]

Mahdi Army Kills 3 US Troops in Diwaniyah Clashes in Karbala, Najaf Will Abu Ghuraib affect the Muqtada al-Sadr Issue? Mopping up operations continue by the US military against the Mahdi Army, according to Reuters. On Wednesday, US troops assaulted two buildings in Diwaniyah that had been used by Mahdi Army fighters to attack US […]

Taguba Report Online; Bush tries Damage Control on Arab Satellite TV The Taguba report on Abu Ghuraib prison abuse is now online at MSNBC, or at least an executive summary of it. On Wednesday, this story finally broke in the United States in a big way. On Tuesday night Koppel had Rami Khoury on, a […]

Standoff with Muqtada continues The Army of the Mahdi fought a gun battle with US troops at Karbala on Tuesday. ‘ Fighting erupted shortly after midnight when Mehdi Army militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr fired mortar bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and machineguns at U.S. and Bulgarian positions in the town 70 miles southwest of […]

Television images Winning the Media War al-Hayat alleges that a Parisian television channel aired new footage Tuesday night from Iraq of American troops who fire on three men that do not obviously pose any danger to them. The provider, a European who had worked in Iraq, said he had smuggled the cassette out of Iraq. […]

Army of the Mahdi attacks US Base near Najaf The Shiite Army of the Mahdi launched twenty mortar shells against the US base near Najaf on Monday, and engaged in a 3-hour firefight with US troops at a checkpoint, but failed to inflict any casualties. US troops returned fire, estimating that they killed 20 militiamen, […]

Turki: Bremer “Didn’t Care” about Torture Evidence: Sa’idi: American Democracy is Dead save for the Facade Abdul Basit Turki, Iraq’s first Minister of Human Rights, had his resignation accepted on Sunday. He had tendered it in response to the way the US dealt with the situation in Fallujah, among other issues. He maintained that he […]