Has the al-Khoei Family Intervened on Muqtada’s Behalf? Received the following from an Iraqi reader: ‘ My uncle in Baghdad who is absolutely not a supporter of Moqtada tells me that the Al-Koei family has jointly written a letter to the CPA stating that they do not hold Moqtada responsible for the mob that killed […]
Whitaker On Progressive Islam Brian
Whitaker on Progressive Islam Brian Whitaker looks at the struggle in the Muslim world between progressives and authoritarians. He makes the good point: ‘Before jumping to conclusions about why this might be, it is worth noting that the same could have been said of Roman Catholic countries about 35 years ago. A look at the […]
40 Dead As Blasts Rip Basra Police
40 Dead as Blasts Rip Basra Police Stations; Renewed Fighting at Fallujah AP is reporting that three huge bombs went off at 3 different police stations in the southern city of Basra almost at the same time on Wednesday and that “many casualties were reported.’ ‘ At one station in the Saudia district of Basra, […]
Corruption And Graft Jason Vest Of
Corruption and Graft Jason Vest of the Village Voice has gotten hold of a juicy Coalition Provisional Authority memo that details political corruption among American-appointed Iraqi politicians, the actual lack of electricity, the ways in which Iranian money is flowing into the country, and the proliferation of militias and dependence of Interim Govering Council members […]
Loya Jirga On Tigris Us Secretary Of
Loya Jirga on the Tigris? US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Weds. that a “Loya Jirga” could be held in Iraq. He seems to me to be grasping at straws. The loya jirga or tribal council was never an elective or decision-making body in Afghan history. Typically, the kings of the Durrani dynasty only […]
Muqtada Vs
Muqtada vs. the Grand Ayatollahs Ed Wong of the NYT has a canny read on the stand-off between Muqtada al-Sadr and the Grand Ayatollahs of Najaf. ‘ by choosing to make his stand in Najaf, one of the holiest cities in Shiite Islam, Sadr has cast the war in the south as a struggle between […]
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Holds Iraq Hearings I didn’t post much on Tuesday because I was testifying in Washington at the Senate Foreign relations commitee hearing on Iraq. The Senate CFR began three days of hearings on Iraq on Tuesday. I’m told it wasn’t on C-Span, which is a great shame (maybe it will be […]
22 Killed 92 Injured At Abu Ghuraib Ap
22 Killed, 92 Injured at Abu Ghuraib AP reports that a bombardment by guerrillas of the Abu Ghuraib prison resulted in 22 deaths of inmates and about 92 injured. The prison has been attacked in the past. Since it houses captured insurgents, the US military speculates that the attacks are aimed at creating chaos and […]
30 Iraqis 12 Us Troops Killed Over
30 Iraqis, 12 US Troops Killed over Deadly Weekend 5 US troops were killed Sunday in fighting near the Syrian border at Husayba, but various other incidents on Saturday brought the weeked total to 12 killed. About 30 Iraqis were killed in clashes. The Husaybah fight appears to be an extension of Fallujah, with some […]