Juan Cole

Violence in Iraqi Provinces Allawi withdrawal, Coup Rumors Sunni Arab guerrillas killed a Marine in al-Anbar Province on Thursday. Guerrillas in Falluja blew up a police wedding, killing 7 and wounding 10. Guerrillas in East Baghdad set off a bomb, targetting a minibus full of government employees, killing one person and wounding 4. Guerrillas in […]

US Military Exaggerated Deaths from Shiite Militias; EFPs used by Sunnis in Sunni Areas; No significant Drop in Casualties with Security Plan Sunni Arab guerrillas account for 90 percent of deadly attacks on US troops in Iraq, concludes Drew Brown of the McClatchy wire service. He shows, as well, that explosively formed projectiles were used […]

Iran: Will it or Won’t It? AP reports that Iran will attend the meeting of Iraq’s neighbors with the US to be held later this month in Baghdad. There had earlier been some question whether Iran would attend if the US was coming. Hans Blix, the former UN weapons inspector, has spoken out against Bush […]

Helman Guest Editorial: Regional Conference with Iran Ambassador Gerald B. Helman writes: “In the weeks ahead, the Administration likely will try to play down the importance of its agreement to participate in a regional conference on Iraq. The decision was announced by Secretary Rice at the tag end of her testimony February 27 to the […]

Very Basic Suggested Reading List on Middle East* Berkey, Jonathan P. The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Cleveland, William L. A History of the Modern Middle East. 3rd edn. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2004. Dodge, Toby. Inventing Iraq : the failure of nation-building and […]

Iraqi Vice President Accuses High Official The Shiite Vice President, Adil Abdul Mahdi of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, has accused a high ministry official of attempting to kill him in a bombing on Monday. The deputy Minister of Labor, Ghazi al-Anbari, died in the blast, along with 10 others. The Bush […]

4 US GIs killed Army of Heaven Cult Arrested A suicide bomber killed 7 in Mosul and wounded 28 at a police station. Reuters reports political violence in Iraq on Tuesday. Guerrillas killed 3 US GIs north of Baghdad, and Shiite militiamen killed a fourth down at Diwaniyah. In Baghdad there were several bombings, one […]

Suicide Bomber Kills 20 at Bagram with Cheney inside A suicide bomber killed 18-20 persons at the entrance to Bagram Base in Kabul while US Vice President Dick Cheney was on the premises. The vice president was unharmed. I guess violence in Afghanistan is in its last throes, too.