The USG Open Source Center translates a newspaper interview with an official of the Turkmen Front. Turkmen speak a language similar to that used in Turkey, and so are the objects of concern of Turkey concerning their treatment in Iraq. Kurds implicated Turkmen in the horrific bombing at Kirkuk last week, though this allegation strikes […]
Kurds on Kirkuk Council call for Annexation of Oil City
Kurdish members of the Kirkuk/Tamim Province governing council called Friday for the city of Kirkuk to be annexed to the nearby Kurdistan Regional Authority. This move is vehemently rejected by Kirkuk’s Arabs and Turkmen. The federal government is calling for calm after this provocative act, which occurred while Arab and Turkmen delegates were boycotting the […]
ISI Linked to Indian Embassy Bombing; McCain client Musharraf Likely Implicated
How much of the $10 billion in aid Bush and Cheney gave to Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf after September 11 ended up being used to kill US, NATO and Afghan troops in Afghanistan? NYT reports that US intelligence intercepted communications between elements of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s military intelligence division, indicating that they gave support […]
2 US Soldiers Killed; Al-Sadr Calls for Rejection of SOFA
Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr again called on PM Nuri al-Maliki to decline to sign a Status of Forces Agreement with the US Pentagon. He pledged the support of the Sadr Movement to al-Maliki if he complied with the request. Antiwar.com says,”Thursday: 2 US Soldiers, 20 Iraqis Killed; 21 Iraqis Wounded”. McClatchy rounds up political violence in […]
Pakistani Consulate bombed; NATO Commander in Afghanistan Calls for More Troops; Strikes same Notes as Obama
Bomb blast outside Pakistani consulate at Herat wounds one. Aljazeera International interviews Gen. David McKiernan, who sounds to me just like Barack Obama on Afghanistan– saying that he doesn’t have enough troops in Afghanistan, that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are resurgent, and that the big problem is Taliban sanctuaries in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas […]
Cole in Salon: Why Bush Folded on Iran
My essay why Bush sent a high-level diplomat to meet Iranian negotiators with no preconditions is out in Salon.com. Excerpt: ‘Pundits and diplomats nearly got whiplash from the double take they did when George W. Bush sent the No. 3 man in the State Department to sit at a table on July 19 across from […]
McCain and the Rage Celebrities; Does he Need to go to Rehab?
McCain had pledged to run a clean campaign, but like Mike Tyson when he’s in the mood to munch ear, the Republicans just can’t control themselves. First they tried to blame Barack Obama for the current price of energy, which is actually so high because Republicans have been in Big Oil’s back pocket and in […]
Bhasin:"Situation on the Ground" or Political Convenience? Thoughts on a US Withdrawal from Iraq
Madhavi Bhasin writes in an IC Guest Editorial: The most consistent answer to the differently phrased generic query, “When will the U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq?” is “Will be determined by the situation on the ground and U.S. military’s assessment of it.” Is it really so? Is the U.S. presence in Iraq contingent upon the […]
Diyala Campaign Begins
The al-Maliki government has just launched another of its military offensives against guerrillas, this time in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province. I am skeptical about these campaigns. They are announced well in advance, allowing the guerrillas to go underground or relocate. Then in Mosul and now in Baquba the campaigns don’t appear to involve […]
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