The unstable al-Maliki government is on its last legs. The Sadr Movement (32 seats) has now formally withdrawn from the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite fundamentalist bloc that is the largest in parliament (though no longer by much). The Sadrists had withdrawn from al-Maliki’s cabinet a few months ago, but had said they would still […]
Rep. Doggett: Congress must Respond to the Propaganda Surge
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Iraq: Plus: International Atomic Energy head Mohammad Elbaradei walked out of a meeting where he felt a Portuguese diplomat’s speech was insufficiently supportive of his call for new inspections in Iran. On the other hand, Elbaradei has been critical of the US for pushing confrontation with Tehran. Despite Elbaradei’s findings […]
Cholera Spreads in North Iraq
The cholera epidemic in northern Iraq continues to grow, with 16,000 persons now estimated to have been infected. I grew up traveling and have seen cholera up close. You lose liquids from both major orifices and have trouble keeping anything down, and eventually if you are not treated you are dehydrated to death. It is […]
Bush’s ‘Troop Withdrawal’ Branded Phony; Sattar Assassination a blow to Bush Optimism; 1 million Dead in Iraq?
Our national discourse has now reached a point where it is a journalistic coup just to point out when a politician is lying. Thus, the headlines that Bush’s ‘troop cuts,’ announced in his speech last night, are phony, and reflect normal rotations. Patrick Cockburn, whose excellent reporting is deeply informed by his risky forays into […]
Shaikh Sattar Killed in Bombing; Anbar State of Emergency
Shaikh Sattar Abu Risha, leader of the Council for the Salvation of al-Anbar Province, has been killed by a bomb set at the entrance to his farm near Ramadi. Sawt al-Iraq says that a state of emergency has been declared in the province as a result. Bush met with him on the recent trip to […]
Rice’s Circular Colonial Logic All Pressure off Reform in Baghdad after Crocker/Petraeus Report
Colonial logic is always circular. Thus, Condi Rice: the US needs to stay in Iraq to protect the US from Iraq. Also, the US needs to stay in Iraq to protect Iraq from Iran. The next part of the circle will be that the US needs to stay in Iran to accomplish both of these […]
Developments in Iran and Pakistan
At the Global Affairs group blog: Farideh Farhi discusses negotiations between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency over inspections of the latter’s nuclear programs. She also tells us about the imminent release of Iranian-American intellectual Kian Tajbakhsh, from prison. Barnett Rubin discusses the collapse of the legitimacy of the Pakistani government in the wake […]
Subjects not Subjected
At the Napoleon’s Egypt blog, several letters are available on the early days of the occupation, some of them by members of the team of scientists Bonaparte brought with him. Excerpt: ‘ The port of Alexandria is divided into two very beautiful bays (with no great depth of water), separated by a dike or causeway […]
Iraqi Reactions to the Petraeus/ Crocker Testimony
The USG Open Source Center translates transcripts of Iraqi reactions to the testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker. Iraqi TVs Carry Further Reporting, Commentary on Congressional Testimonies 11 SepIraq — OSC SummaryTuesday, September 11, 2007 This summary highlights select Iraqi TV reporting and commentary on the testimonies before Congress made by General David […]
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