Juan Cole

Ongoing crisis around Muqtada al-Sadr Muqtada al-Sadr taunted US troops who are seeking to arrest or kill him. In his Friday prayers sermon in Kufa. Muqtada said, “What sort of freedom and democracy can we expect from you [Americans] when you take such joy in torturing Iraqi prisoners?” asked Sadr, demanding that the US guards […]

The Mideastization of the US, or: Rumsfeld Must Resign The Bush administration keeps talking about bringing democracy to the Middle East, but a key element in democracy is always the accountability of public officials to the public. That is why we have elections, that is why we have a division of powers, that is why […]

Cole on Wolf Blitzer’s 5 PM Newshour, CNN If current plans hold, I’ll be a guest on Wolf Blitzer’s show sometime 5-6 pm EST on CNN. Readers have asked for a heads up about these things. Oops, Rummy’s hearing went long and knocked us off.

US Troops Assault Sadrists in Three Shiite Holy Cities Al-Hayat: Special UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had to delay his return to Iraq because the Bush’s decision to besiege Fallujah and kill 600 there in revenge for the killing of 4 private commandos. Now Brahimi is back in the country, working to save Bush’s skin, and […]

Brahimi under Fire The Bush Administration is putting a great deal of faith in UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi’s ability to establish a caretaker government by June 30. But the idea of the UN, represented by a Sunni Arab, and Paul Bremer appointing the Iraqi government is being attacked by the current appointees, the Interim Governing […]

Israeli Connection with Abu Ghuraib Torture? Many readers have written to suggest that there is an Israeli connection of some sort to the Abu Ghuraib prison scandal, because the techniques used seem so similar to what Palestinians report. One noted that Joe Ryan, the Abu Ghuraib blogger, had some training with Israeli specialists on such […]

Muqtada Negotiates with Head of Secret Police az-Zaman reports that a new round of negotiations has begun with Muqtada al-Sadr, this time conducted directly by Maj. General Muhammad al-Shahwani, the new head of the Iraqi secret police (Mukhabarat). This news rather amazes me and seems a sign of desperation on both sides. Ali Allawi, the […]

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 […]