Archives for January 2006

Split in Sunni Guerrilla Movement Gilbert Achcar kindly shares this translation of an article from al-Hayat on splits in the Sunni Arab guerrilla movement. ‘ The AMS: We Are Now Waging Two Battles: Against ‘the Occupation’ and Against ‘the Terrorists’ Sunni Clans Take the Initiative of Launching a Campaign to Expel Zarqawi’s Followers and ‘Foreigners […]

Pipeline Blasted Again Sunnis want Federalism postponed until 2009 Guerrillas blew up pipelines again on Wednesday, halting Iraqi petroleum exports through Turkey. There were some other bombings and shootings. Interior Ministry police commandos (usually Shiites) killed a Sunni cleric in Samarra. This looks bad. A new report says that the Iraq quagmire is causing the […]

Achcar on Basra & British Gilbert Achcar kindly writes: ‘ Dear Friends, I searched a couple of British newspapers today and could not find any mention of the news item reported in today’s Al-Hayat and involving British troops in Basrah.I decided therefore to translate it for your information. The behavior of British troops in Southern […]

7 Troops killed in 2 Days Sunni Arabs warn of Paralysis Guerrillas used roadside bombs to kill 7 US and coalition troops in the past two days in separate incidents. Sunni Arab politicians in Iraq are complaining that the US has set up the new political system so as to favor sectarian outcomes and to […]

Rafsanjani Warns against US Policy in Iraq Muqtada Demands Islamic Rule Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said Monday as he met with young Iraqi Shiite nationalist, Muqtada al-Sadr, that the US sought to divide and rule in Iraq. Iran Focus says, ‘ “The goals of the occupiers are in contradiction to the wishes of […]

Top Ten Mistakes of the Bush Administration in Reacting to Al-Qaeda Usamah Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri murdered 3,000 Americans, and they both issued tapes in the past week, blustering and threatening us with more of the same. Most of us aren’t wild about paying for the Bush administration with our taxes, but one thing […]

Muqtada Pledges Defense of Iran from US attack Iranian FM calls for US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq AP reports that guerrilla violence left dozens dead or wounded in Iraq over the weekend. The young men who attempted to volunteer for the Iraqi police force, kidnapped last week, turned up as two dozen corpses on Sunday. […]

2 Marines Killed UIA picks up some smaller parties Two US Marines were reported having been killed on Friday. Newsweek details how the guerrilla movement has denied Iraq the oil income that the Bush administration had depended on for reconstruction. There have been 20 big attacks on the most important parts of the Baiji refinery […]

Iraqi Election Results: Shiites Near Majority in Parliament Shiite clerical leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim narrowly avoided being assassinated as the election results were announced in Iraq on Friday. The Shiite fundamentalist coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, won 128 of 275 seats in parliament. It needs 138 for a simple majority. The Risaliyun or Message Party […]