Juan Cole

Bam Earthquake Kills 20,000 The enormity of 20,000 persons being suddenly wiped out by an earthquake is just hard for me to fathom. There is an old custom in the Middle East and South Asia of seeing such incidents as a sign of God’s displeasure. That way of thinking strikes me as sick (even though […]

Bremer to Blair: No Weapons Labs The cover story of the Bush administration about the reasons for the Iraq war has become so full of holes that it is even confusing major officials and allies now. The Bushies started out saying that the war was about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. When it turned out […]

Al-Hakim Calls for UN Involvement In a news conference in Baghdad, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, temporary president of the Interim Governing Council, said that when in Europe he had lobbied heads of state for more United Nations involvement in the transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi government this summer. He said he pressed this request on […]

The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight Although Baghdad was shaken by a series of six rocket attacks on Thursday, the guerrillas managed to do very little damage. They targeted the HQ of the Coalition Provisional Authority, two major hotels favored by Western journalist, and the German, Iranian and Turkish embassies. Although the explosions appear to […]

Sunni Religious Groups form Council The NYT is reporting that Sunni Arab religious groupings met on Thursday and are seeking to establish a Sunni Arab leadership that could match that of the Kurds and the Shiites. The Sunni religious groups involved included Sufis, Salafis, and the Muslim Brotherhood. I’m not sure such a grouping has […]

Sistani Stands Ground on Demand for General Elections AFP reports that six members of the Interim Governing Council met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf on Thursday to discuss his demand that general elections be held this spring. The IGC agreed with US civil administrator Paul Bremer on November 15 that caucus-type elections, by […]

Some Mujahidin-i Khalq Terrorists to be Tried in Iraq The Mujahidin-i Khalq terrorist organization, which has committed mass murder in Iran, was given refuge in Iraq by Saddam Hussein, who used the group’s guerrillas to harass Iran. Iraqis claim that at key points the MKO helped Saddam stay in power by military action. The Coalition […]

The Future of the Iraqi Military The International Crisis Group has issued a report on the situation of the Iraqi military, and made some important recommendations to the US. “RECOMMENDATIONS To the United States Government and the Coalition Authorities: 1. Take immediate steps to increase the attractiveness of service with the New Iraqi Army (NIA), […]

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim: Compensate Iran ‘ Jordanian Press Highlights 25, 26 Dec 03Jordan — FBIS Report in Arabic 26 Dec 03FBIS REPORTFriday, December 26, 2003 Amman Al-Ra’y in Arabic on 25 Dec carries a 400-word article on page 18 and 11 by Dr Bassam al-Umush criticizing Iraq’s Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim’s statements that Iraq should compensate Iran […]