Juan Cole

Sistani: Elections must be Held soon az-Zaman/Wire Services: A spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani says that elections must be held as soon as possible, and that anything done before the people have spoken is illegitimate. He is quoted as saying that “the principal political forces are not calling for an Islamic republic.” He said […]

Is the failure of the Arab Summit a Failure of Bush’s Democratization Plan? Rob Collier of the San Francisco Chronicle examines the issues around the collapse of the Arab League summit that had been planned for Tunis, asking if the “Greater Middle East” plan of the Bush administration, which pushes democratization, is having any effect. […]

Changing Status of Shiites in Arab World Hamza Hendawi of AP reports on the implications of a Shiite-majority Iraqi government for Arab world politics. He points to the Shiite majority in Bahrain (though the emir there is a Sunni), and the substantial Shiite populations in Lebanon, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Hendawi notes that Shiites have […]

Shape of Things to Come UPI is reporting that the Interim Governing Council is considering the form of the Iraqi government to which sovereignty will be handed on June 30. Previous plans had called for a more representative and expanded body, of 100 or more delegates, with more representation for tribal sheikhs and clerics who […]

Muqtada’s Newspaper Closed, 1000 Demonstrate AP is reporting that the Coalition Provisional Authority has closed the weekly newspaper of radical young Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, al-Hawzah. It is charged with fomenting violence against US troops. The US military authorities seriously considered arresting Muqtada last October, but in the end decided that would cause more trouble […]

Clarke: Difference Between Clinton and Bush For readers who don’t scroll all the way down, just wanted to draw your attention to my posting late Sunday on what Clarke means when he says fighting terrorism was a more urgent consideration for the late Clinton administration than for the early Bush one. I argue that it […]

Mosul: Barwari Escapes Assassination; US MPs wounded, Western Security Guards Killed Public Works Minister Nasrin Barwari narrowly escaped an assassination attempt while traveling to Mosul on Sunday, , according to AP. She is the only female minister appointed by the Interim Governing Council. She is a Kurd, and a feminist, and led the movement to […]

Sistani will not Launch Street Protests: Aide az-Zaman/AFP: Refuting reports appearing Saturday in the Kuwaiti press, an aide to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf told the press Sunday that Sistani wishes to avoid chaos and does not intend to call his supporters out for demonstrations, even if his reservations about the interim constitution are […]

Israeli Intelligence Blasted by the Knesset over Iraq Failure A subcommittee of the Israeli Parliament has issued a report sharply critical of Israeli intelligence failures concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It notes that Mossad thought Iraq’s programs and stockpiles were a threat, which they were not, and yet seemed unaware of how much […]