Juan Cole

Cole Testimony at Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 20 US Mistakes in Iraq by Juan Cole Testimony before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, April 20, 2004 This brief addresses three areas. First, what mistakes have been made in the Coalition administration of Iraq, and why? Second, what is the current situation? Third, what steps can […]

Basra Toll rises to 68 Dead, 238 Wounded, Including Children Riyadh Shaken by Blasts, As Well The horrific series of bombings at police stations in Basra have also killed or injured large numbers of civilians, including children, and cast a pall of dread over the southern port city. Basra had been spared major violence during […]

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 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 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 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 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. 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 […]