Juan Cole

Informed Comment wins 2003 Koufax Award for Expert Blog Many thanks to all the kind readers who voted for Informed Comment, and to the authors of the progressive “Wampum” site for hosting the “awards ceremony” in cyberspace.

Ashura Coming Nir Rosen has an important piece in the Asia Times on the preparations for Ashura in Iraq. Ashura, the 10th of the month of Muharram, commemorates the martyrdom of the grandson of the prophet, Husayn. It is a time of mourning, sermons, poetry, weeping and processions with self-flagellation. Hundreds of thousands of Shiites […]

Bremer Pledges to Block Islamic Law Paul Bremer appointed Muhsin Abdul Hamid, the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party (i.e. the Muslim Brotherhood) to serve on the Interim Governing Council. One could argue about whether this appointment was wise, but it is ironic that Bremer is now having to overrule his own appointee. Abdul Hamid […]

Brahimi Warns Iraqis of Civil War UN envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi knows whereof he speaks when it comes to civil war. He is Algerian, and watched his own country descend into a downward spiral of violence between secularists and Islamists in the 1990s. He has been intimately involved in diplomacy in Lebanon, helping end […]

Interim Governing Council Rethinks its Shape It seems increasingly likely that the national elections in Iraq scheduled for May 2004 will be pushed to December, but that the delay will not affect the handover of sovereignty to an Iraqi government by the US. The US will surrender sovereignty to an expanded Interim Governing Council, which […]

Controversy over Whodunit in Fallujah The Scotsman has a balanced article on speculation concerning the identity of the attackers in Fallujah on Saturday. It notes that Iraqi police and Paul Bremer have tried to blame outsiders, but US military spokesmen say they doubt it was outsiders. They say that ‘Such a complex undertaking involving separate […]

Shiites have Alternative Plans AFP reports that the Shiites say they have alternative plans for elections if direct elections are declared impossible by the United Nations. They say they will not reveal them at the moment. Some Shiites warned of violence if the community is too deeply disappointed by the UN or US way of […]

The Dangers of Economic Shock Therapy in Iraq Nobel Laureate, economist Joseph Stiglitz, sagely warns against Bush administration plans for economic “shock therapy” (rapid and radical liberalization and privatization) in Iraq. He points out that successful transition to democracy has often been actively hindrered by such an approach. Proponents of shock therabpy in the Coalition […]

Zarqawi Letter and Fear of Democracy Matthew Yglesias asks at his thoughtful blog: “Something a bit curious in the (purported) Zarqawi letter: [I]f we fight them [Sunni Arab policemen working for the new Iraqi government, I think, the context isn’t 100% clear to me], that will be difficult because there will be a schism between […]