Juan Cole

Talabani rejects ISG Report Sunni Gunmen Kill Shiite family in Baghdad My editorial in Sunday’s Mercury News treated the issue of the US talking to Syria and Iran about the crisis in Iraq, as the Iraq Study Group urged. Excerpt: ‘ Baker said of Syria, “There is a strong indication they would be in a […]

8 Killed, 44 wounded in Karbala Bombing Sunni Guerrillas break off Talks with US First-rate Iraq historian Sarah Shields argues that Iraq is not having a civil war so much as it is living through the consequences of the US having destroyed its functioning state. I agree with her that the framework for the fighting […]

US Air Strike on Thar Thar British/Danish Raid on Militias in Basra The US military had a firefight on Friday in Ishaqi in Thar Thar, then troops on the ground called in air strikes on two houses used by the guerrillas. Twenty Iraqis were killed, including two women, according to the US. Local Iraqi police […]

Bush/Shiites vs. Baker/Saudis? In my article today at Salon.com, “Will Bush choose his new friends over his old? points out that “The president’s Shiite allies in Iraq really don’t like some of James Baker’s Sunni-friendly suggestions.” By the time the Iraq Study Group report was released, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the previous week […]

Bush Sets Preconditions for Iran, Syria; Senators Critique ISG At a news conference with Tony Blair, George W. Bush basically blew off the Iraq Study Group’s recommendation that he talk to Syria and Iran without preconditions. Excerpts: ‘ “Having an international group is an interesting idea,” Bush said. “We have made it clear to the […]

10 US Troops Killed, Dozens of Iraqis While US politicians were mesmerized by the Iraq Study Group report, the Iraqis went on with their bloody civil war. See the next entry for the hyperlink. AFP reports on responses to Baker-Hamilton by Iraqi politicians. The main concern seems to be a) that the US will pressure […]

Arab Reaction to the ISG Report The USG Open Source Center translates and analyzes the pan-Arab media on the Baker-Hamilton report: ‘ FYI — Pan-Arab Media Treatment of Baker-Hamilton Study Group Report on IraqMiddle East — OSC ReportWednesday, December 6, 2006 T19:38:34Z Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic, independent television station financed by the […]

Reprint Edn.: 10 Things Congress Should Demand on Iraq In the light of the issuance of the Iraq Study Group report, I thought readers might be interested in comparing it with the 10 suggestions I made in August of 2005 for a course change in Iraq. Alas, I no longer think that the US military […]

Regional Conference Prepared Iraqi Military to Assume control within a year Gates Confirmed The US now has a secretary of defense who knows that we are not winning in Iraq, who wants to do something about it, and who doesn’t think nuking Iran is just a dandy idea. Although his involvement in Iran-Contra dogged Robert […]