Juan Cole

Constitution Writers to be elected The preparatory commission on drafting an Iraqi constitution met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf, and afterwards announced that as soon as a census could be taken (to prepare voter rolls), elections would be held for delegates to a constitutional convention. This way of doing things has the disadvantage […]

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim Resigns from Interim Governing Council Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq and a member of the Interim Governing Council, is set to suspend his membership in the IGC. He is the second member to resign, at least provisionally. Shiite cleric Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum resigned […]

American Casualties in Iraq “US troops in Iraq suffered 22 attacks in the last 24 hours, in which one soldier was killed and six wounded, US military spokesman Lt. Col. George Krivo said on Wednesday.” -Xinhuanet.

Danish troops attacked Danish troops in al-Qurna in south Iraq took rocket propelled grenade and machine gun fire for the third time in two weeks. US commentators who keep saying that the South is calm haven’t been following the news on the ground. (The Bulgarians in Karbala have also been repeatedly attacked). (-al-Zaman)

Protests against Disarming the Militias in Najaf The Marines in the holy city of Najaf had already announced that armed militiamen would be prohibited in the city after Saturday. But they suddenly announced on Wednesday that even now, gunmen in the streets would have to have official permission to carry a weapon. Muhammad Husayn al-Hakim, […]

Al-Qaeda’s New Geostrategic Master Plan What do the new al-Qaeda videotape and audio speeches of Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri tell us about the hopes of the remaining top leadership of the organization? Because the US and Pakistan have managed to capture or kill about 2/3s of the top 25 al-Qaeda commanders, the middle managers […]

Iraqi Negotiations in Ankara Ahmad Chalabi, the current president of the Interim Governing Council, led a delegation to Turkey on Wednesday for bilateral talks. A source in the delegation told al-Sharq al-Awsat that the IGC has decided to decline peacekeeping troops from any neighboring countries, including Turkey, so as to avoid complications. This decision would […]

*Guerrillas killed one American and wounded another northeast of Baghdad when they set off a homemade bomb near along a military supply route. In Irbil, guerillas wounded six American soldiers, killed one Iraqi, and wounded 41 others, when they set of a huge car bomb outside an office frequented by US soldiers in northern Iraq. […]

*Germany and Russia are ready to train a new Iraqi police force, but they want the US to specify a firm timetable for turning Iraq back over to the Iraqis. Russia is flatly rejecting the idea of sending troops to Iraq under any circumstances.