Juan Cole

130 Killed in Wave of Sectarian Attacks Bush called Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Monday to reassure him that it was not true that the US planned to dump him if he had not produced better results in two months. Bush hasn’t dumped Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who has not produced better results for […]

The End of Press Freedom in Iraq? Al-Zaman, the Times of Baghdad, reports [Ar.] that press freedom may soon be a thing of the past in Iraq. The Iraqi parliament on Monday passed a resolution calling on the president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, to intervene to close down the offices of the al-Sharqiyah television channel […]

Bloodbath in Kirkuk; Sunni Radicals seek Islamic Republic; Sunni Party Challenges Confederacies Al-Zaman [Ar.] reports that 5 car bombings killed 11 [late reports say 13], wounded 55, left buildings and commercial centers ablaze, and shook the northern oil city of Kirkuk to its core on Sunday, sending residents inside and emptying the city’s streets. About […]

Murtha on Administration Name-Calling Rep. John P. Murtha is among the bravest men in the US Congress. He minds chickenhawks like Dick Cheney and George W. Bush insinuating that he is a coward or a defeatist for arguing that the US should draw down its troops in Iraq and let the Iraqis sort things out […]

Over 90 Dead in Civil War Violence Shiite Militiamen Kill 27 Sunnis at Balad Two more US troops were announced killed on Saturday. Enraged by the kidnapping and killing of 17 Shiite farm workers at Dhuluiyah by Sunni Arab guerrillas, Shiite militiamen came up to nearby Balad (a Shiite city with a Sunni minority near […]

Corey Robin on “Liberty versus Security” Corey Robin’s review essay in the London Review of Books raises a raft of important questions about civil liberties and “security.” His canny remarks, and the books he reviews, make clear that the American Right is about establishing difference and hierarchy in society and ensuring that not everyone is […]

Scorpion Brigade Head Killed by Bombing Construction Workers Killed An assassin managed to get a bomb into the office of Col. Salam al-Mamuri, head of a unit of the special police commandos in Hillah south of Bahgdad, and blew him up along with an aide, wounding 7 other officers. His Scorpion Brigade, a unit of […]

British Chief of Staff Calls for Troop Withdrawal Sunnis in Parliament Revolt over Vote on Confederacies 53% of Americans want a timetable to be set for when US troops would leave Iraq. The funny thing? A big majority of Iraqis also wants a timetable! Here we have a case where the two publics agree, on […]

Cole in Salon on Bush’s Speech My essay, “Four more years? As civilian casualties climb, the U.S. makes plans to keep 140,000 troops in Iraq until 2010. Will the public in either country permit it?” is in Salon.com today. Excerpt: ‘ On Wednesday, George W. Bush again laid out his rationale for declining to consider […]