Dems Blink on Timetable; New Iraq Plan on the Ground The Democratic leadership in the House and Senate blinked on a troop withdrawal timetable today. The Warner plan, which substitutes 19 benchmarks to be achieved by the Iraqi government for the exact departure dates of US troops, puts some reporting restrictions on Bush but essentially […]
Effort To Amend Constitution Founders
Effort to Amend Constitution Founders Again Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that Iraqi parliamentarians proved unable to agree on key constitutional compromises. The sticking points included the establishment of further provincial confederacies, De-Baathification, the disposition of the oil city of Kirkuk, and the distribution of national wealth [this is where that would be done, not in […]
Usg Defends Haleh After Many Days Of
USG Defends Haleh After many days of silence, the US government finally spoke out on Tuesday against the absurd charges lodged by the Iranian government against imprisoned Iranian-American academic Haleh Esfandiari. Robin Wright has more, noting that Haleh is considered the “gold standard” with regard to academic scholarship. The Ibn Khaldun Center for Human Rights […]
Chart Of Enemy Attacks In Iraq Here Is
Chart of Enemy Attacks in Iraq Here is a chart of guerrilla attacks in Iraq since 2003 through April 2007. It is from a GAO document on Iraq, “GAO-07-677 Iraq Electricity and Oil,” p. 34. The original is in .pdf format here. I think it says it all. Note that all the activity related to […]
Cole Interview Of Ali Allawi In
Cole interview of Ali Allawi in Chronicle My interview with Ali Allawi, author of The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace is temporarily available at the Chronicle of Higher Education at this special site for non-subscribers. Excerpt: ‘ Cole: Is the Iraqi government as it is now constituted really viable? Can it […]
Parliament Building Shelled Iraqi
Parliament Building Shelled Iraqi Military Makes Plans for If the US Suddenly Decamps Gulf States Fear Iraqi Violence Guerrilla mortar shells hit the Iraqi parliament building on Monday. The air in the chamber filled with dust, but there were no casualties. Reuters reports large numbers of bombings and attacks around the country, which on Monday […]
Esfandiari Charged With Serious Crime
Esfandiari charged with Serious Crime The Iranian government has now charged detained Iranian-American academic Haleh Esfandiari with trying to overthrow the current regime, according to the Washington Post’s Robin Wright. This AP article calls it a “soft revolution.” How was she going to do this? By academic interchanges and conferences! I think I speak for […]
Lebanon Crisis Veteran Reporter
Lebanon Crisis Veteran reporter Nicholas Blanford explains what is happening in Lebanon. 1. Fath al-Islam is a splinter guerrilla group established last December that has links to the international Salafi Jihadi movement (which some call “al-Qaeda” as shorthand). Its leader has ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It is tiny, with at most 300 fighters, and […]
Incredible Vanishing Iraqi Political
The Incredible Vanishing Iraqi Political Leadership: Al-Hakim to Iran, Talabani to US Abdul Aziz al-Hakim has chosen to seek chemotherapy for his lung cancer in Iran rather than in the US. His condition was confirmed during a visit to a hospital in Houston this weekend. He is likely to be absent from Iraq in Iran […]
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