Archives for July 2008

A White House spokesman emphasized that US-Iraqi talks on a Status of Forces Agreement do not include mention of a hard date for US withdrawal. The disclaimer came after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for the first time spoke of seeking a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops. Al-Maliki is under pressure from the […]

In the months since my last post “On Mercy and Redress,” The List : Project to Resettle Iraqi Allies has grown in scope as well as in influence, but it still has a long way to go to fulfill its goals. Kirk W. Johnson, the creator of the Project has testified before congressional committees and […]

Napoleon’s Egyptgot a notice in the NYT “Paperback Row” by Elsa Dixler. ‘NAPOLEON’S EGYPT: Invading the Middle East, by Juan Cole. (Palgrave Macmillan, $16.95.) Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt — the first modern incursion by the West into the Middle East — is often remembered as the beginning of Egyptology or a template for Napoleon’s later […]

Barnett Rubin has extensive comments on the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. The toll has risen to 41 dead, 147 wounded. Aljazeera International has video: And, more South Asian bombings: Some group set off 6 bombs in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi, in the Pushtun-dominated areas.

Two Iraq-style suicide bombings hit South Asia in the past 24 hours. On Sunday, a suicide bomber hit a police checkpoint in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, killing 17 and wounding 54. Most of the dead were police. Some speculated that the bombing was meant as a grim commemoration of the storming of the Red […]

Zogby reports: July 06, 2008 Zogby Poll: Building Mo-bama! Democrat Leads McCain in Electoral College Tally, 273-158 The Democrat also leads 44% to 38% in the nationwide horserace test as Libertarian Bob Barr wins 6% UTICA, New York – As the race for President passes the Independence Day holiday and heads toward the dog days […]

Shorter Swopa: The Iraqi government ban on using photographs of non-candidates (including revered ayatollahs) in campaign literature is not a move to separate religion and state but is rather compliance with direction from Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who had already complained about the photos. Surprise! Friends of George do well with oil contracts in Iraq. […]