Juan Cole

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 […]

Medact: Iraqi Health Situation Deteriorating Medact, a health professionals service organization, has issued a new report on the Iraq war and its aftermath. It alleges that between 21,700 and 55,000 people have died since the US/UK invasion, and that the casualties continue to mount. It estimates that at least 7,800 Iraqi civilians have been killed, […]

Iraqi Analyst: Resistance is Nationalist, Not Foreign According to al-Jazeera, Baghdad U. Political Scientist Salman al-Jumaili reports that the majority of attacks on Coalition forces in Iraq are carried out by Iraqi nationalist and Muslim radical groups. He adds, “It is important to mention nationalist resistance – among the dead we have found Turkmen and […]

References http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ archives/week_2003_11_09.html#002196 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/articles/A28318-2003Nov11.html http://www.foxnews.com/story/ 0,2933,102823,00.html http://www.medact.org/tbx/pages/ http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2003/s987254.htm http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ 61180572-880F-4712-AC8E-CCC0E16BFDBE.htm”

Further instability in Iraq Guerrillas hit a convoy at Iskandariya, killing one American soldier. Guerrillas exploded an improvised bomb along the side of the street in Basra, killing 3 civilians at least. In Mosul, guerrillas killed a petroleum official and his son with machine gune fire on Monday.