Juan Cole

Chief Judge of Najaf, Kidnapped, Executed; Baghdad Official Killed The chief judge in the Shiite shrine city of Najaf was kidnapped Monday, taken to the desert, and executed gangland style with bullets through his head. Judge Muhan Jabr al-Shuwaili had been in charge of investigating former Baath Party members and government employees in the region. […]

Barwari: Half of Iraqis lack Clean Water Nasrin Barwari, interim Minister of Municipalities and Public Works, said that half of Iraq’s 25 million people had no access to clean water. She expressed her disappointment Monday that the United Nations and so many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were abandoning Iraq. She said they were desperately needed for […]

Police Riot in Basra About 200 police gathered in front of the British Headquarters in Basra Monday to protest a reduction in their salaries from $160 a month to only $60 a month. At one point they rushed the offices of the chief British officials, and came to blows with British guards. The British troops […]

Growing Numbers of Iraqis Watch al-Jazeerah Reuters reports that about a third of Iraqi households now have access to satellite television channels, and that 62 percent of them get their news primarily from al-Jazeera and another Arabic channel critical of the US. (Reference below).

Afghani Constitution Mandates Women’s Seats in Parliament The announcement that the new draft Afghanistan constitution recognizes Islam as the religion of the state has provoked a great deal of discussion in the West. But lots of Western countries have a state religion. The UK does, in the form of Anglicanism, and the British monarch is […]

References Najaf http://www.hipakistan.com/en/ detail.php?newsId=en43874&F _catID=&f_type=source Basra http://www.guardian.co.uk/ worldlatest/story/0,1280, -3341695,00.html Satellite tv: http://www.gulf-news.com/ Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=102013

3 Americans Killed in addition to the dead from the Helicopter Attack Guerrillas killed a soldier of the 1st Armored Division with an improvised explosive device in Baghdad Sunday. In Fallujah, guerrillas set off a roadside bomb as two civilian contractors passed by, killing both. They were working for the US Army Corps of Engineers. […]

Foreign Ministers of Neighboring Countries Meet in Damascus The six neighbors of Iraq (with the addition of Egypt) met in Damascus over the weekend, and issued a joint statement condemning terror attacks against civilians and NGOs. They also asked that a timeline be announced for the return of sovereignty to the Iraqi people. Turkey had […]

Guerrillas Bomb Northern Pipeline The pipeline from Kirkuk to the Dora refineries of north Baghdad was cut by an explosion near Mashruh al-Therthar, southwest of Samarra. Guerrillas tossed hand grenades at the pipeline, according to AFP. Eyewitness Hassan Messarhad remarked, “I heard a powerful explosion in the evening, and I saw huge flames coming out […]