Juan Cole

Move to Early Turnover of Civil Authority in Iraq? One outcome of Paul Bremer’s frantic consultations in Washington on the rapidly deteriorating Iraq situation appears to have been a decision to move to some sort of sovereign Iraqi government quickly, and to worry about the writing of a constitution later. Although this decision is long […]

Japan Pulls Out; S. Korea Reduces Planned Force The car bombing of the Italian police station at Nasiriyah has had the results the guerrillas were aiming at. Japan has now formally announced that it won’t send peacekeeping troops to Iraq. South Korea had been being pressed by the US to send 10,000 troops, including combat […]

US Army Confiscates Journalists’ Videotape Some thirty media outlets are protesting that the US military on the ground in Iraq is interfering with their coverage of the ongoing military operations there, in contradiction of the Pentagon’s own guidelines. They say equipment, including cameras and videotapes, have been confiscated, and journalists have been harassed. Since the […]

Two US Soldiers dead Guerrillas killed a US soldier with a roadside bomb near Taji on Wednesday. Another soldier died of wounds incurred in a roadside bombing in Baghdad. The American military compound in the northern city of Mosul took rocket-propelled grenade fire Wednesday. An Iraqi paramilitary was killed in Mosul during the attacks.

Talabani foresees Provisional Government preceding a new Constitution Interim Iraqi president Jalal Talabani conceded Wednesday that it might be better to establish a provisional Iraqi government before producing a constitution. Talabani said, “I think it is very reasonable and necessary to have a provisional government before having a constitution.”

US almost Kills Ayatolah Bahr al-Ulum Ayatollah Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum, a member of the US-appointed Interim Governing Council, barely avoided being killed by a US soldier on Wednesday. The soldier opened fire by mistake on the ayatollah’s automobile as it was entering the grounds of the US headquarters, wounding Bahr al-Ulum’s driver in the thigh. […]

Breaking News: 16 Italians, 8 Iraqis dead in Nasiriyah Police Station Attack On Wednesday guerrillas launched a well-coordinated bombing attack against an Italian military police compound in Nasiriyah, a city in the largely Shiite south. First, a lead truck crashed through the entrance, then another car followed through and was detonated, according to a British […]

Armitage: We need to bring the Iraqi Sunnis into the Political Process Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in Cairo said that the US wishes to bring the Iraqi Sunnis back from being marginalized and to engage them in a political process. He said the US wants to turn power over to an Iraqi government […]

US Rule in Iraq Collapsing? US civil administrator Paul Bremer’s sudden, rushed trip to Washington earlier this week signalled that the White House is considering a radical rethinking of Iraq policy. As Josh Marshall notes, Rumors are flying that he himself may resign or be fired. He and his colleagues in Washington are also clearly […]