Rubin: Will Bin Laden Win? See Barnett Rubin’s essential piece at our group blog, “The Pessoptimist in Istanbul: Will Bin Laden Win?” With amazing concision, he explains everything from why Bin Laden was angry about the abolition of the Caliphate by Ataturk and the Treaty of Lausanne, to why Pushtuns in the tribal regions of […]
Pace Independent Iraqi Battalions In
Pace: Independent Iraqi Battalions in Decline Gen. Peter Pace says that the number of Iraqi battalions (about 500 men) who can operate wholly independently of the US forces has fallen in the past year from 10 to only 6. He also says we should not worry about that statistic. He points out that the number […]
Iraq Minorities In Extreme Peril Bbc
House rebuffs Bush on Iraq Iraq Minorities in Extreme Peril The House of Representatives again rebuffed Bush on Iraq, voting by a comfortable majority to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq but to keep some there to fight ‘al-Qaeda terrorists’ in Iraq. This plan of keeping troops in Iraq to fight “al-Qaeda” seems to me naive. […]
30 Bodies Found In Baghdad Death Squad
30 Bodies found in Baghdad Death Squad killings Spike For a Daily Kos diary on our panel at Yearly Kos in Chicago, Aug. 3-6, this link. Many thanks to Markinsanfran. Reuters reports civil war violence in Iraq on Wednesday. Some 30 bodies were found in the streets of the capital, victims of death squad violence. […]
Sadrists Furious With Al Maliki Over
Sadrists Furious with al-Maliki over “Baathist” Charge The USG Open Source Center reports on the tiff between the Sadrists in parliament and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki occasioned by the latter’s charge that some Mahdi Army commanders are “Baathist” thugs. Iraq: Al-Sadr Trend Criticizes Prime Minister’s Charge of ‘Ba’thist’ InfiltrationIraq — OSC ReportTuesday, July 10, 2007 […]
20 Rockets Mortar Shells Hit Green Zone
20 Rockets, Mortar Shells, Hit Green Zone; Kill 3 Petraeus Meets with Presidency Council On Tuesday, guerrillas launched some 20 katyusha rockets and mortar shells into the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad, killing 3 persons, including a US soldier, and wounding 25 persons. The Green Zone was originally supposed to be the safe place in […]
4 Times Coleman
Al Franken’s Successful Fundraising Minnesota Senate Race at Stake Iraq an Issue for Coleman Al Franken is proving himself a formidable political fundraiser as he revs up his campaign to be the Democrat who faces Neoconservative Senator Norm Coleman in the ’08 elections. It is tiresome that some observers dismissed Mr. Franken because he is […]
Pakistan Aftermath On Last Words Of
Pakistan Aftermath On the last words of the Pakistani clerical leader at the Red Mosque, see Manan Ahmad’s posting at ICGA, as well as my own entry.
Pakistani Army Invades Red Mosque
Pakistani Army Invades Red Mosque The Pakistani military invaded the Red Mosque and seminary complex early on Tuesday morning. As I write, Aljazeera is reporting that the army has 85% of the complex. Some 40 Muslim militants inside the mosque have been killed, as have 3 Pakistani soldiers. For the background of this crisis, see […]
© 2025 All Rights Reserved