Juan Cole

Cole in Salon: McCain’s Iraq Problem My column , “John McCain’s Iraq Problem,” is now available at Salon.com. Excerpt: ‘ On Sunday, April 8, Sen. John McCain appeared on CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an attempt to do damage control. Pressed on his assertion, in a CNN interview last week, that Gen. David Petraeus goes about […]

How to Get out of Iraq I repeat: My article, “How to Get out of Iraq,”, is now out in The Nation. Here is a copy of an email I sent about the piece to a discussion list: Just to clarify in light of . . . comments, I was not proposing an optimistic scenario, […]

10 US Troops Killed Thousands of Sadrist Demonstrators Come to Najaf Thousands of followers of young Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr converged on Najaf Monday, planning to join rallies against continued US military occupation of Iraq. April 9 is the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to US forces. Although some journalists are writing that […]

64 Dead in Iraq; 4 US Troops Killed; Bombings in Baghdad, Bodies in Baquba; US vs. Mahdi Army in Diwaniya AP reports that 64 persons were killed or found dead in Iraq on Saturday. Among them were 4 US troops, killed by a roadside bomb near Baquba. 27 bodies were found in Baquba, a mixed […]

Attack on Sunni Baghdad Satellite Channel Draws Criticism The US Government Open Source Center translated or paraphrased the following report from Sunni fundamentalist party internet sites; Iraq: AMS, Iraqi Islamic Party Condemn Attack on Baghdad ChannelFriday, April 6, 2007 The Iraqi Islamic Party WWW-Text in Arabic — website of the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, led […]

Friday Sermons in Iraq The USG Open Source Center translates excerpts from the Iraqi Friday prayers sermons delivered a week ago, many of which were reacting to the Arab League Summit held in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi Friday Sermons for 30 Mar Discuss Arab Summit, Security, Political ProcessIraq Saturday, March 31, 2007 Major Iraqi television channels […]

Chlorine Truck Bomb Kills 30, Wounds 100; Rumayla Pipeline Near Basra Bombed; Assault on Mahdi Army in Diwaniya Alissa J. Rubin of the NYT reports that a chlorine truck bomb in Ramadi killed 30, including women and children, on Friday, and sent about 100 persons to the hospital with shrapnel wounds or breathing problems. In […]

70 Killed in Iraq Diplomacy of Iran May be Legacy of British Sailor Hostage Crisis The killings of 18 Iraqi, British and American soldiers by Iraqi guerrillas and militiamen were announced on Thursday. AFP estimates that 52 persons were killed or found dead on Thursday, with 20 bodies brought to the morgue at Baquba northeast […]

Rash of Kidnappings of Dozens of Shiites Iraq Government misplaces or Steals $8 Billion AP reports that Sunni Arab guerrillas kidnapped 22 Shiite shepherds and stole thousands of sheep on Wednesday when the Shiites came up from Karbala to al-Anbar Province in search of pasturage. Reuters reports that there was also another major kidnapping on […]