Juan Cole

Fallujah: Phase II, Guerrilla War? Reuters reports on the impressive coordinated tactical strike by guerrillas at Fallujah on Saturday. Some forty masked, armed men were involved, and the attack was brazenly launched in broad daylight. Late reports put the number of dead at at least 27, with dozens wounded. The London daily al-Hayat reports that […]

Arab, Kurdish Chieftains Visit Sistani Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish leader, met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on Saturday, and emerged to say he was confident that the Coalition Provisional Authority would turn over sovereignty to an Iraqi government by July 1. Speaking of Sistani, I received by email a fascinating account by a participant of […]

Bush and Service in the Texas Air National Guard I have not said anything about the controversy concerning George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard. The controversies have mainly centered on whether he lied about some minor arrests (one for a prank involving stealing a wreath at Yale) or tickets when he […]

“Zarqawi” Letter I have had a chance to examine the letter the Coalition forces say they found on a Compact Disk on the person of al-Qaeda courier Hasan Ghul. The fax of the letter that I received, unlike the version published in the Arabic newspapers has “from” after the invocation of God, and three ellipses […]

Sistani considers the Meeting with the UN Envoy a Success az-Zaman reported today that informed sources affirmed that Lakhdar Brahimi’s report for the United Nations will include a consensus about the importance of holding (direct) elections, and the specification of a new deadline for doing so after the surrender of sovereignty to the Iraqis. This […]

Abizaid Escapes Unharmed from Fallujah Attack The poor security situation in the Sunni heartland was eloquently underlined Thursday when US military commander in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, visited Fallujah, which has been a hotbed of anti-American violence and demonstrations. His party came under rocket propelled grenade fire, but the US incurred no casualties. The NPR […]

Ibrahimi, UN, see consensus on Direct Elections UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on Thursday. On emerging from the meeting in Najaf, he said he agreed on the need to hold (direct) elections, but he asked for “careful preparations” to be made for them. Ash-Sharq al-Awsat noted that Brahimi’s statement came […]

British Official: Basra Shiites who Oppose Sistani and Muqtada Keep Quiet According to the London daily ash-Sharq al-Awsat, an informed Brtish diplomat says that Muqtada al-Sadr and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani have wide support in the southern, largely Shiite port city of Basra. He said it is to the extent that those who disagree with […]

Americana Translation Project More on the new project I’ve launched, to translate works of American thought, history and culture into Arabic and have them printed, probably in Baghdad, and properly distributed. Some kind readers are already donating to the project, and I am deeply grateful for their generosity. Someone suggested that if any Michigan lawyer […]