Juan Cole

VL Day? Patrick McGreevy writes from Beirut: ‘ VL Day? It’s 11 pm in Beirut, and honking cars and motorbikes are cruising the Corniche while their occupants discharge Kalashnikovs into the black air shouting “Allahu Akbar.” If only we had electricity and lights, the triumph might be more believable. This seems like a time warp: […]

Cole on Majority Report I’m booked to be on Air America’s Majority Report Monday evening 7:40 or so EST. Please consider writing to tell the channel’s managers and owners how much you appreciate the show and the contribution Sam Seder and Janeane Garofalo make to our political life: supporttheshow@majorityreportradio.com

Israel Kills 38 Civilians on Eve of Ceasefire Hersh: Israeli Campaign Dress Rehearsal for War on Iran 250 Hizbullah Rockets Slam into northern Israel, Kill 1 Seymour Hersh says that sources knowledgeable about Israeli and Bush administration planning maintain that the Israelis laid out last spring in Washington and gained administration support for a plan […]

63 Dead, 140 Wounded at Zafaraniyah US Raids Ministry of Health The Associated Press reports that after 7 pm on Sunday, Sunni Arab guerrillas suddenly attacked the Shiite Zaafaraniyah district of Baghdad. First they set off two car bombs in the neighborhood. Then another team, in the Dora district, fired up to nine rockets at […]

McGreevy: The War’s Deathbed Patrick McGreevy writes from Beirut: The War’s Deathbed ‘ It is 3 am in Beirut. The war is scheduled to keel over and give up the ghost in five hours. Those of us attending the deathbed scene are full of questions and doubts. Might we finally grasp the purpose of this […]

Saving Baghdad Like We Saved Fallujah: Guest Comment A reader who was in Iraq recently writes: ‘[Baghdad:] . . . The city is virtually shut down, and the population suffers from collective trauma. The good people of Iraq did not deserve this. Bush Team paved the way for monsters to take over, and still they […]

Jill Carroll on Her Captivity The Christian Science Monitor is carrying a serial account by journalist Jill Carroll of her captivity in the hands of Iraqi guerrillas. CSM is one of our best sources of world news, and everyone should consider subscribing, to make sure it stays around and we aren’t left only with the […]

Khalilzad and Iran: Guest Comments An informed observer writes: ‘ Ambassador Khalilzad made statements in Baghdad regarding Iran, perhaps for US and Western consumption and seemingly timed in relation to events in Lebanon, based upon this reported context: “Privately, some senior U.S. officials are skeptical the Iranian government is doing more than providing money to […]

Lebanon Accepts UN Ceasefire Hizbullah Kills 24 Israeli Soldiers Despite significant reservations, the Lebanese government on Sunday morning accepted the UN security council resolution. Hizbullah leader Shaikh Hasan Nasrallah also indicated that his party would obey it if the Lebanese government accepted it. I saw Michael Hudson on CNN saying that he thought the fighting […]