Arab World

I’ll be interviewed by Alison Stewart on the PBS ‘Need to Know’ current affairs program on Friday evening in most markets, though the show may be on another day on your PBS channel and may be repeated over the weekend. I’m talking about the situation in Iraq as most US combat troops are withdrawn.

Iraq

Iraqis differ in Reactions to US Combat Troops’ Departure

Juan Cole

Aswat al-Iraq reports on reactions to the withdrawal of US combat brigades from Iraq in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The head of the Basra Provincial governing council, Jabbar Amin, said that the American combat forces had withdrawn at dawn on Thursday, which would charge the Iraqi forces with their true mission, in strengthening […]

Iraq

Last US Combat Units withdraw from Iraq

Juan Cole

The last US combat convoy left Iraq on Thursday, rather some time after George W. Bush declared an end to combat operations in Iraq in May, 2003. Of course, this flat statement is not entirely accurate. The remaining 50,000 troops are viewed as trainers and logistics support to the Iraqi government. But they include special […]

Iraq

59 Dead, 120 Wounded in Iraqi Suicide Bombing;
Iraqi Parties reject US Power Sharing Proposal

Juan Cole

The Telegraph reports that 59 persons are dead and 120 wounded in a suicide bombing attack on potential army recruits in Baghdad. There may have been two perpetrators, presumably with bomb belts. Those volunteering for the Iraqi army were gathered in a large crowd outside a government building and being allowed in in groups of […]

Iraq

Top Ways Dan Senor Could have avoided offending Iraqi Muslims

Juan Cole

Former Bush administration spokesman in Iraq Dan Senor is against the building of a Sufi Muslim community center in lower Manhattan. He says he is concerned that interfaith understanding may be damaged. Since Senor is so worried about religion and hurt feelings, he no doubt feels badly about what he and his team did to […]

Iraq

Kurdish General Again Insubordinate, Angles for US to Remain in Iraq

Juan Cole

The public statement by Iraqi chief of staff Lt. General Babakr Zebari , at a defense conference that the Iraqi army would not be ready to stand on its own until 2020 and US troops should remain until then is not a statement about security issues in general but is a highly ethno-sectarian piece of […]

Afghanistan

Rudolph: Can You Pass the Terrorism Quiz?

Juan Cole

Jeffrey Rudolph writes in a guest editorial for Informed Comment Can You Pass the Terrorism Quiz? Misconceptions about terrorism, regularly promoted by the mainstream media, have facilitated harmful US government actions—two wars, domestic legislation that curtailed civil liberties, excessive national security spending. That basic, factual information about terrorism is so rarely reported thus serves to […]

Iraq

Jiyad: The Da`wa Party Dilemma and Gridlock in Iraq

Juan Cole

Sajad Jiyad writes in a guest editorial for Informed Comment: The dilemma for Hizb al-Da’wa: A commentary on the issue of leadership in Iraq A friend recently said to me that the Iraqi mentality is to only respect the leader and to be outside the spotlight is to be outside full stop. This, according to […]

Iraq

US Military Mission in Iraq ends not with a Bang but a Whimper

Juan Cole

President Obama reaffirmed on Monday that the US would have all combat troops out of Iraq by the end of August. He said that the final 50,000 would all be out of Iraq within 18 months, in accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) negotiated by the Iraq parliament with the Bush administration in […]