Iraqi politicians have finally begun forming a government at long last, 8 months after the parliamentary elections of March 7. Parliament finally met Thursday and elected Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani president once again. By the constitution, the president then asks the leader of the bloc with the largest number of seats in parliament to attempt […]
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Arab World
Iraq’s Christians Urged to Flee, al-Maliki Says they Should Stay, and Everyone Wonders where the Government Is
Update:: The NYT is reporting that on Wednesday morning, more bombings targeted Christians in Baghdad, leaving 3 dead and 28 wounded. Some of those hit were Muslims racing to help Christian neighbors. The bombers are radical Sunni Muslim extremists, “al-Qaeda” in the current parlance though they probably have nothing to do with Usama Bin Laden, […]
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Threatens Egyptian, Iraqi Christians
The Guardian argues that Sunni Arab religious radicals (“al-Qaeda”) released from US or Iraqi custody in recent months have formed newly assertive cells and that they, schooled by their time in jail with other guerrillas, are newly assertive in their bombing attacks on Baghdad. This week they targeted Catholics and then Shiites. Radicals released threats […]
Maliki Announces Gain in Parliament as Baghdad mourns Church Massacre
Iraq’s security problems continue to be severe, if not generally crippling the way they were in 2006, as underlined by Sunday’s guerrilla takeover of a Baghdad church and the subsequent deaths of dozens when the terrorists detonated suicide belts during a government rescue attempt on Monday. The al-Qaeda operatives who took hostages said that they […]
Cole in Truthdig: “The World Is Safer Without a Republican House”
My column is out at Truthdig is out, entitled “The World Is Safer Without a Republican House” Excerpt: ‘ Although Congress for the most part leaves foreign policy to the president, it can occasionally intervene pivotally in that arena, as when it shot down Woodrow Wilson’s plan to have the U.S. join the League of […]
On How War with Iran might Destroy the United States
David Broder is a respected political analyst. I once had breakfast with him and I like him. I often think his columns are on the mark. So I am sure he by now regrets his piece on Saturday in the Washington Post on how Obama can get the country out of the economic doldrums. Broder […]
Saudi Arabia Saves Chicago Synagogue from al-Qaeda Bomb Plot
CNN reports that Saudi intelligence was the source of the information on the tracking numbers of two bomb packets sent by UPS and Fedex from Yemen by a single individual. The United States has thanked Saudi Arabia for the crucial intelligence tip. The packages were tracked down in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and at […]
Mission Impossible: Iraq
Mission Impossible: Government Formation Producer and screenwriter: The United States Starring: Nuri al-Maliki, Iyad Allawi, Ammar al-Hakim, Salih al-Mutlak, Muqtada al-Sadr, Tariq al-Hashimi Sound and Visual Effects: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan (Someone sent me this by email, so I don’t know who the artist is and would be glad to add credits if informed […]
Arab Press: Iraq Wikileaks will Damage US Reputation
Wikileaks’ publication of 400,000 pages of previously secret documents on the Iraq War is roiling Western capitals and Baghdad. Julian Assange maintains that some 15,000 civilian deaths beyond the official US estimates are detailed in these documents. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the massive leak on grounds that it will endanger US troops. Assange […]