Iraq

President Obama’s appointment of Gen. David Petraeus to succeed Gen. Stanley McChrystal as commander of US forces in Afghanistan signaled a continued commitment by the White House to a large-scale counter-insurgency campaign involving taking large swathes of territory, clearing it of insurgents, holding it in the medium term, and building up local government and social […]

Iraq

Twin Oil Disasters: BP and Iraq
Bloody Friday in Iraq Leaves 27 Dead, over 80 Wounded

Juan Cole

The wave of violence in Iraq on Friday, wherein guerrillas killed at least 27 and wounded dozens, underlined how fragile the country still is. In many ways, American Iraq resembles BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil gusher. In the cases both of Iraq and of Deepwater Horizon, oil men were trying to get a big reserves […]

Iraq War

Kirchner: Bush angrily said War would Grow US Economy

Juan Cole

Néstor Kirchner, former president of Argentina, revealed in an interview with Oliver Stone for the director’s documentary “South of the Border” that former US president George W. Bush was convinced that war was the way to grow the US economy. Here is the video: And here is the transcript of Kirchner’s account of the conversation […]

Iraq

US Troop Withdrawal in Iraq on Track

Juan Cole

WaPo says that the Obama administration is still on track to draw down to 50,000 troops in Iraq by September 1, despite press speculation to the contrary in the past couple of days. There are now roughly 92,000 – 94,000 US troops in that country, down from 160,000 when President Obama was first elected. Another […]

Iraq

Iraq Death Toll from Attacks rises to 119, Biggest since Start of Year

Juan Cole

AP is reporting that the wave of bombings and attacks throughout Iraq on Monday is now estimated to have killed 119 persons. Although some analysts are attempting to tie the attacks to the failure of Iraq’s political class to form a government, thus creating a vacuum, I do not see it that way. The attacks […]

Iraq

Guerrilla War Continues: 31 Killed in Iraq Attacks; Allawi, Maliki to Meet

Juan Cole

A series of coordinated attacks on checkpoints and a Shiite mosque on Monday in Iraq demonstrated that the guerrilla opposition to the US-imposed new order in that country continues to be active and organized. Some 300-400 civilians and members of security forces are still being killed in political violence every month, not counting the insurgents […]

Iraq

Shiite Parties Form Largest Coalition in Iraq; Ayatollahs to choose PM; Win for Iran

Juan Cole

The pan-Arab London daily al-Hayat [Life] reports in Arabic that sources close to the two major Shiite coalitions have revealed that they will form a 10-person committee of “wise men” to choose the country’s prime minister. The “wise men” will consist of or include prominent Shiite clerics chosen by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the spiritual […]

Iraq

Allawi’s Secularists call for Caretaker Gov’t, New Elections

Juan Cole

The London pan-Arab daily al-Hayat [Life] reports in Arabic that the appeals court will issue its judgment on the coming Monday, May 3, concerning whether 9 candidates should have been allowed to run for parliament and whether they should now be disqualified, as urged by the Justice and Accountability Committee (formerly the Debaathification Committee). So […]

Iraq

Bombings in Baghdad target Shiites

Juan Cole

AP reports that guerrillas set off at least 4 car bombs in Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 69 persons and wounding hundreds. The target of four of the attacks was Shiite Muslim mosques or religious centers. Sunni Arab insurgents have lost the war in Iraq, but they have turned to occasional campaigns of massive […]