Juan Cole

Unemployment Riots in Baghdad, al-Hilla and Basra Former Iraqi soldiers reporting to collect a payment $40 became outraged at the long waits they faced at offices in Baghdad, al-Hilla and Basra, and rioted in dissatisfaction. Some had come from 100 miles away and some were allegedly told that soldiers whose names began with particular letters […]

Sadrists Have Some Tribal Support in Southern Cities I often get asked by journalists and others whether Muqtada al-Sadr should be taken seriously, or whether he is just a young punk with some ruffians around him, as the Najaf religious elite maintains. His competitors include Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. One informed observer in Iraq says, […]

10,000 Shiites Mourn in Najaf Some 10,000 mourners (other reports say more) showed up in Najaf for the 40-day commemoration of the assassination of Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim on Friday. The brother and successor of the deceased, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, used the occasion to insist that the drafters of the new Iraqi constitution be elected […]

Bombing in Basra Averted Iraqi police in Basra also discovered a huge bomb in Al-Tanuma Square near the bridge over the Shatt al-Arab, disarming it before it could wreak havoc in the crowded public space. The Square has also seen the distribution of leaflets calling on Sunnis, Christians and Mandaeans to leave Basra. Several mosque […]

Continued Attacks on US Troops Wound Iraqis Instead Guerrillas set off a roadside bomb in Khalidiya on Friday, damaging US military vehicles; no injuries were suffered by our troops. Guerrillas in Baghdad threw a hand grenade at US army vehicles near the al-Karma Hotel, wounding five Iraqis. No US troops were hurt. Guerrillas in Tikrit […]

Iran may Send Reconstruction Aid to Iraq The US continues to be schizophrenic on the issue of Iran. The State Department appears to have reached out to the Iranians for help with reconstructing Iraq, and may get it, according to Robin Wright of the Los Angeles Times. At the same time, the Pentagon is being […]

Iyad Alawi takes over Presidency of IGC Iyad Alawi became president of the Interim Governing Council on October 1, in accordance with a compromise that lets each of 9 IGC members take one-month rotations as leaders. Alawi, b. 1945, was trained as a physician (a neurologist) at Baghdad University and practiced in the UK He […]

Wesley Clark Calls for Criminal Investigation of Bush Iraq policy Presidential hopeful Gen. Wesley Clark said Friday he believes the Bush administration should be investigated for possible criminal wrongdoing in the case it made to the American people that Iraq was an immediate threat, according to the Telegraph. He said an independent counsel should look […]

“A Land Ruled by Chaos” – Goldenberg Suzanne Goldenberg’s long account of her recent journey to Iraq in The Guardian sounds an awful lot more like the Iraq visible in Arabic-speaking journalists’ accounts than the recent fluff pieces by non-Arabists like Max Boot and Patrick Clawson. Some quotes: “Iraq under the US-led occupation is a […]