Archives for January 2006

Iraq’s Economic Doldrums With reference to my comment on Sunday about Iraq’s economy being a mess, and my link to a Guardian article on the anxieties in the Amec Corp. about whether the repairs done in Iraq will last in the face of guerrilla sabotage. An informed reader wrote: ‘Note that The Guardian paraphrases an […]

Arab League Troops for Iraq? Al-Hakim Rejects Tyranny of the Minority Rumors are flying in Cairo that the US is asking Arab countries to send troops to Iraq to prepare the way for a US withdrawal. This quest is said to underlie the mission of Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney to Egypt and other Arab […]

Strike in Pakistan Fails Pakistan Demands Apology Ooops. The bombing of a village in northern Paksitan, apparently done in hopes of killing al-Qaeda #2 Ayman al-Zawahir, missed its intended target. The idea had been to kill him while he was eating a joint dinner with his hosts in honor of the Feast of Sacrifice (commemorating […]

US Helicopter Shot Down Sunni Arabs Cannot Block Formation of Government Guerrillas north of Mosul engaged Iraqi police in a firefight. When a US helicopter came up to support the police, the guerrillas appear to have shot it down, killing two GIs. I disagree with the conclusions The Scotsman draws in reporting on on the […]

Bush and the Caliphate Karl Vick of the Washington Post does his readers an enormous favor by explaining the idea of the Sunni Muslim caliphate, its history, and why many Sunnis want it revived. The article also contains a critique of Bush’s recent speech in which he warned of the caliphate ideology of al-Qaeda, saying […]

US Strike on al-Qaeda Safe House on Afghanistan Border ABC News is reporting that a US air strike on a village at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border may have killed 5 high-ranking al-Qaeda figures, including the organization’s #2, Ayman al-Zawahiri. On CNN, Wolf Blitzer speculated that since Zawahiri has been releasing video tapes (one just a week […]

Sunnis Insist on Trying to Change Constitution US Military Torture Investigations cut Short Only Agence France Presse among Western news agencies carries the Sunni Arab response on Thursday to Wednesday’s remarks by Shiite cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim rejecting any changes in the constitution. The Sunni Arabs were promised an opportunity to try to change some […]

Iraq Bloggers Souring? Sheldon Rampton of The Center for Media & Democracy kindly writes: “In case this hasn’t crossed your viewfinder, you might want to check out recent developments with your old pals at Iraq the Model. Apparently they’re not very happy with the recent election results. Here’s an excerpt from Omar’s January 5 blog […]

Sharon as Jailer: Cole at Salon.com My article on Ariel Sharon’s “gated community” approach to Israeli-Palestinian relations is out at Salon.com. Excerpt: “Even as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stirs fitfully from his coma, in the aftermath of a massive stroke and several operations, Gazan militants with a bad aim have fired several Qassam rockets […]