Archives for March 2005

Kurdish-Shiite Negotiations Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani put pressure Saturday on the United Iraqi Alliance to maintain its unity and to speed up the formation of a new government. Intrepid PBS reporter Elizabeth Farnsworth of the Lehrer Hour did a piece from Qom this week about the influence of Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Iran, via his […]

Samarra Turmoil AFP reports that Iraqi police in Samarra announced a daytime curfew aimed at preventing the holding of mass demonstrations called for by the Association of Muslim Scholars. This curfew is apparently authorized by the State of Emergency extended through the end of March by interim PM Iyad Allawi. There has been a lot […]

Constitutional Issues Professor Nathan Brown has written an overview of constitutional issues (link is pdf). Andrew Arato writes by email: This is the more or less complete picture for what 2/3 votes are needed for, according to the Transitional Administrative Law, in the National Assembly and for what 50% + 1 majorities are enough. [Many […]

Public Support for Iraq War CollapsingMajority of Americans want to Bring Some Troops Home Zogby international found that in late February the percentage of Americans who felt that the Iraq War was worth the cost plummeted by 20 percent. Is this because of the further $83 billion Bush requested for Iraq? If so, the support […]

US Wounds Italian Hostage, Kills Intelligence Man Guerrillas Kill 4 Marines The US military on Friday fired on the car carrying a just-released Italian journalist who had been taken hostage. AP says that the troops wounded journalist Giuliana Sgrena and killed “the Italian intelligence officer who helped negotiate her release . . .” Italian Prime […]

Chalabi seeks Anti-American Coalition Kurds Demand Kirkuk Az-Zaman: In a development that many observers considered a surprise, it was announced Friday that Ahmad Chalabi, Shiite secularist and head of the Iraqi National Congress, met a few days ago with members of the Association of Muslim Scholars, who had boycotted the political process. He discussed with […]

Achcar: Allawi’s Offensive Gilbert Achcar writes by email: Allawi’s offensive which I described in my previous email involved a phone talk yesterday with George W. Bush, described as follows by the WH spokesperson: ———————————————-Press Briefing by Scott McClellan [excerpt] The White House March 3, 2005 Q When the President talked with Allawi this morning, you […]

US-Engineered Lebanese Elections of 1957 Josh Buermann of Flagrancy to Reason has dug up a printed source for the allegation I reported from a former USG official, that the CIA engineered the 1957 Lebanese elections (and so helped to provoke the mini-civil war of 1958). He writes: From the March 31st, 1997 New York Times: […]

3 US Soldiers Killed, Baquba Bombed Guerrillas take advantage of Parliamentary Gridlock AFP reports that on Thursday, in addition to the two bombings at the Ministry of the Interior, guerrilas car-bombed a police station in Baquba and killed 3 US soldiers. ‘ In Baquba, north of the capital, one person was killed and 18 wounded […]