Juan Cole

Israeli Intelligence Blasted by the Knesset over Iraq Failure A subcommittee of the Israeli Parliament has issued a report sharply critical of Israeli intelligence failures concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It notes that Mossad thought Iraq’s programs and stockpiles were a threat, which they were not, and yet seemed unaware of how much […]

The Difference between Clinton and Bush: The Millennium Plot More on the Clarke conroversy: The pundits and politicians who keep saying that Clinton’s anti-terrorism policies and Bush’s are the same are missing a key piece of the puzzle. The policy outline was the same, but the implementation was very different. Hint: The key piece of […]

Sistani Aide Denounces Interim Constitution Reuters is reporting that Kuwaiti papers on Saturday discussed the Friday sermon of Muhammad Baqir al-Muhri, a lieutenant of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in that country. Al-Muhri (Mohri) threatened that if key passages of the interim constitution are not amended, Sistani would call for massive street demonstrations against it. I […]

Iraqi Oil Exports delayed from both North and South AFP reports delays in Iraq oil exports in both the north and the south of the country. Although exports are up to pre-war levels, it should be remembered that the 2.8 million barrels a day typical of the pre-war period were very low in comparison to […]

Death Toll from Two days of Attacks in Iraq is 21 AP reports that guerrillas fired rockets into the municipal building in Mosul on Saturday, killing two civilians and wounding 14, including 2 policement. In central Baghdad, guerrillas set off a roadside bomb, which wounded 5 Iraqis. In the south, a brigand shot the driver […]

US Marine, 13 Iraqis, Killed in Fighting on Friday AFP reports that 13 Iraqis and a US Marine were killed in separate incidents on Friday. Marines engaged in an extensive firefight with guerrillas in Fallujah, in which 4 Iraqis were killed and 7 wounded, and in which guerrillas killed one US Marine. One of the […]

Shiite, Sunni Clerics in Iraq Condemn Israel, US; Muqtada: 9/11 Divine Retribution on US AFP reports that both Shiite and Sunni Muslim preachers on Friday continued to protest against the assassination of Hamas clerical leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, “burning Israeli flags and accusing the United States of remaining silent over the killing.” (On Friday, the […]

Muqtada, Sistani’s Rep, Condemn Interim Constitution Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 1608 gmt 26 Mar 04 via BBC Monitoring, reports that Muqtada al-Sadr also demanded in his sermon that if the Governing Council does not repeal the interim constitution or law of state administration, it should dissolve itself. He called the temporary constitution a “terrorist […]

Basra: Women Coerced to Veil, Shops Attacked David Delanian writes more on the role of Shiite militias in imposing a mini-theocracy in the southern port city of Basra. ‘ Menacing groups of men have been stopping cars at the university gates and haranguing women whose heads are uncovered, accusing them of violating Islamic law. Male […]