Juan Cole

Sistani Issues Impassioned Plea 48 Dead in Civil War Violence Thursday Two bombings, in Baghdad and north of Beiji, killed 10 persons on Thursday. In addition, 38 corpses showed up on the streets of Baghdad, victims of faith-based reprisal killings. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani issued his strongest plea yet for Iraqis to cease their faith-based […]

Parsi Guest Editorial: Action Against Iran a Mistake ‘ July 20, 2006 Statement from Dr. Trita Parsi, Phd, author of Treacherous Triangle-The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel and the United States (Yale University Press, 2007) It would be a serious mistake to follow the advice of Neo-con commentators who are now agitating for US military […]

“No More Infrastructure to Destroy” Patrick McGreevy writes from Beirut: ‘ Beirut is tense. Some people are expressing worries that things could get very difficult. The worse-case scenarios are on people’s minds, but so far there is no sign of social disorder among Lebanese citizens. AUB’s foreign faculty and staff are slowly being evacuated. The […]

2 Arab-Israeli Boys Killed by Hezbollah in Nazareth Chemical Stores Moved from Haifa Hizbullah fired many katyusha rockets into Israel again on Wednesday, killing two Arab-Israeli boys in Nazareth and lightly wounding 9 others with shrapnel. Hizbullah’s katyushas are extremely imprecise, so that in firing them at Israel the fighters are engaging in indiscriminate fire […]

Israel Kills 57 in Lebanon Arbour Warns War Crimes are Prosecutable The Daily Star reports, ‘ Israeli fighter-bombers also destroyed nearly 20 residential homes and buildings in Lebanon in the early morning hours of Wednesday and continued air raids in the South, the Bekaa and Beirut’s southern suburbs. At least 12 Lebanese, including children, were […]

Hospitality or the Abyss Patrick McGreevy writes from Beirut: Hospitality or the Abyss West Beirut seems like a different place today. Shi’ite men and black-clad women have flooded into Hamra—the neighborhood near American University of Beirut that was once known as the most secular place in the Middle East. They are sleeping in crowded and […]

Letter from Rasha in Beirut; and the Israeli Siege Notes From Rasha [a young woman] in Beirut: “Dear All, I am drafting this entry in this unusual diary at 11:30 pm. I have about half an hour before the generator shuts down. Most of Beirut is in the dark. I dare not imagine what the […]

Letter from a Young Lebanese-American Woman Yasmina Kamal wrote this to an email acquaintance of mine and I am reprinting: I now feel compelled from within to voice my own views of the recent bloody conflict. Since I have many close friends on either side of the issue, and since I grew up in a […]

Call Congress! I got this from the CNI. I agree. Please let Congress know that Israel’s Total War on Lebanon (they hit the Saint Therese Hospital today) is unacceptable. Please take a moment to call or email your congressional representatives. There is a link on the right to congress.org or the below message gives a […]