Juan Cole

Zarqawi Issue Still on the Front Burner Tony Karon at Time’s weblog and Jim Lobe in the Asia Times both write interestingly on the letter attributed to Abu Mus`ab az-Zarqawi (i.e. Ahmad Fadil Al-Khalailah), the “Arab Afghan” leader of the al-Tawhid terrorist group that has for some time had a rivalry with al-Qaeda. A fine, […]

11 Iraqis Killed, 55 Foreign Troops Wounded in Car Bombings Reuters reports that guerrillas launched two car bomb attacks against a military base near Hilla yesterday, killing 11 and wounding over 100 others, including 55 Coalition troops under Polish command. AP said that “The wounded included 32 Iraqis and 26 Poles, as well as Hungarians, […]

Bush Contradicted Again President Bush keeps saying that everyone thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the Iraq war, implying that if he was wrong, he was in good company. But Deutsche Welle reports of UN weapons inspector Hans Blix in February and March of 2003: ‘Blix recalled that the inspectors visited nearly 70 […]

Armed Militias of SCIRI, Da`wa Patrol Samawah AFP via az-Zaman: Security is being provided to the southern Shiite city of Samawah, pop. 350,000, by the paramilitary forces of the Da`wah Party and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The Dutch and Japanese military contingents appear to be garrisoned outside the city. Samawah has […]

Laissez Faire Kaput Reuters confirms earlier reports that Tom Foley, the Coalition Provisional Authority official in charge of economic policy, has given up on a plan to privatize 150 state-owned companies. The plan, submitted to the Interim Governing Council last fall, was shelved by that body. Many Iraqis feared that the state firms would be […]

Karbala Affairs az-Zaman reports that a CPA official* has forced the resignation of the governor and deputy govenor of Karbala province along with several members of the provincial council. No reason was given for the move. On Tuesday, a former Baath official was shot dead in Karbala. There have been demonstrations against provincial councils and […]

Bremer left Brass out of Loop on Iraqi Army Dissolution AFP reports that Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace says that the Joint Chiefs were never consulted by Paul Bremer over his decision to simply dissolve the Iraqi army last May. Since actually having an Iraqi army might have made […]

Women Demonstrate Demanding Equal Rights Small groups of women demonstrated in cities all over Iraq on Wednesday, demanding that equal rights for them be specified in the Fundamental Law now being drafted by the IGC, and that 40% of seats in parliament be set aside for women. The set-aside of seats for women has already […]

Japan invites Samawah Chieftains to Tokyo The tribal chieftains of the Samawah region have been invited to Tokyo in April for consultations about the best ways to rebuild their city, according to az-Zaman/ DPA. The Daily Star of Beirut recently published and interesting overview of the dire situation in Samawah. The assignment of Japanese Self […]