Juan Cole

$2 Billion Unaccounted for In CPA Handling of Iraq Finances The BBC reports that of nearly $20 billion in Iraqi money that the Coalition Provisional Authority had authority over during the past year, some $2 billion is unaccounted for. The report says, ‘ Helen Collinson, from Christian Aid, said: “For the entire year that the […]

Iraq Haunts Bush in Istanbul Nabil al-Tikriti, who teaches history part-time at Loyola University New Orleans, writes Sunday from Istanbul: ‘ Hello: There are 15 million people in Istanbul who [are extremely hostile to] Bush. So that he could get a private tour of Topkapi and the rest of Istanbul during this NATO summit, they […]

Clarke: Invasion of Iraq an Enormous Mistake In a speech in Orlando, former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke said, according to AP: ‘ The invasion of Iraq was an ”enormous mistake” that is costing untold lives, strengthening al-Qaida and breeding a new generation of terrorists, former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke said Saturday. […]

Attacks Target Party Offices in Iraq Al-Hayat: Guerrilla attacks on Saturday concentrated on party offices of parties allied with the United States. Gunmen attacked the HQ of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq in Baqubah, killing 4 persons. Others blew up the HQ of the Iraqi National Accord, the party of caretaker Prime […]

Should Cheney be Fined $275,000? Vice President Dick Cheney shouted “go fuck yourself!” at inoffensive Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, at a photo opportunity on the Senate floor earlier this week. On Friday he told Fox Cable News, “I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it.” Now, it seems to […]

US Kills 20 in Fallujah Bombing Muqtada condemns Thursday’s Terrorism The US air force bombed Fallujah again on Friday, hitting a safehouse of the al-Tawhid and al-Jihad organization of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and killing 20 fighters. Some reports, apparently based on aerial surveillance, suggested that they just missed Zarqawi. I’m not sure, though, how you […]

Jack Ryan Withdraws from Race Illinois Senate candidate Jack Ryan withdrew from the race on Friday. It had become increasingly clear to him that the allegations he pressured his then wife, actress Jeri Ryan, to attend sex clubs in the 1990s, would dominate the campaign if he tried to remain in it. Former senator from […]

Jaafari: Iraqis Must be in Control Emergency Laws a Possibility Interim Vice President of Iraq, Ibrahim Jaafari, said Friday that emergency laws might be implemented if the security situation demanded it. Jaafari is a leader of the extremely powerful but under-reported al-Dawa Party, a covert Shiite organization organized by cells. AP’s Tarek El-Tablawy is to […]

107 Killed, Including 3 US Soldiers: 321 Hurt in 6 Iraqi Cities Edmund Sanders of the LA Times and AP report that within a six-hour period, guerrillas launched bombings, ambushes and small arms fire in six cities in the Sunni heartland. Three US soldiers were killed, along with 104 others, and 321 were wounded. Those […]