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Stages for New Government The precise stages envisaged in the new plan for Iraqi sovereignty by June, 2003, are available at the Web site of the Coalition Provisional Authority. The Fundamental Law laying out basic rights and the structure of the state must be completed by Feb. 28, 2004. (Dara Nuruddin, a member of the […]

Cole Article on Sadr Movement among Iraqi Shiites Those of you who have followed this site for any length of time will already know the details. But I have just brought out a journal article on the Sadr Movement and Iraqi Shiites in post-war Iraq: Juan Cole, “The United States and Shi‘ite Religious Factions in […]

Interview with Todd Mundt on Michigan Public Radio Via Michigan Radio ” 11/13/03 Iraq Update Todd Mundt Paul Bremer is returning to Iraq with a new set of marching orders from the Bush administration. The Washington Post reports this morning that the administration plans to support the creation of a reconstituted governing body in Iraq. […]

17 US soldiers Dead, 5 Injured, One Missing Eyewitnesses near Mosul say that they saw a low-flying Black Hawk helicopter take ground fire and turn ablaze before trying to gain altitude and crashing into another Black Hawk above it. The collision killed 17 US troops, injured 5, and left one missing. Over 400 US troops […]

Cheney Ignored British Warnings on Post-War Instability in Iraq Former British ambassador to Washington Sir Christopher Meyer has revealed to the Guardian that the British repeatedly pressed US Vice President Dick Cheney and the Pentagon on planning for the chaotic situation in post-war Iraq. They got no satisfaction from either, even though the State Department […]

Istanbul Synagogue Bombing Kills 22, wounds 242 My money is on al-Qaeda as the culprits in the two massive car bombs that went off in Istanbul’s Galata district on Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, outside two synagogues. Because the street was bustling, many or most of the killed and wounded were apparently Muslims. Istanbul is one […]

US moves to Hand Sovereignty to Iraqis by June; Well, Sort of We now know what the anonymous Arab diplomat meant when he told the New York Times that he had met with Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz and that all of them were focused on an “exit strategy” for Iraq. ABC News seems to have been […]

4 Americans Killed in Iraq Guerrillas killed two soldiers and wounded three with an explosive charge aimed at their convoy north of Baghdad on Friday. Friday morning, guerrillas launched a similar bomb attack in central Baghdad, wounding a 1st Armored Division soldier, who later died from shrapnel. Late Thursday, attackers opened fire on US civilians […]

Muqtada al-Sadr Praises New Transition to an Iraqi Government Young Shiite radical Muqtada al-Sadr, in his Friday Prayers sermon at Kufa, also praised the new program, saying that any step that restored sovereignty to Iraqis was a step in the right direction. He said that the decision of the US to move in this direction […]