Juan Cole

Israel Targets Milk, Medicine Factories Hizbullah Kills One in Nahariyah Israeli troops invaded Lebanon again early Wednesday morning, on what Israeli spokesmen called a limited search and destroy mission. Hizbullah sent more rockets on northern Israel, killing one person at Nahariyah. The death toll late Tuesday stood at 235 people killed in Lebanon and 25 […]

70 Iraqis Killed on Tuesday Massive Bombing at Kufa I thought I’d check in with Iraq news, for which I don’t have as much time because I’m following Lebanon. Bad idea. Very bad scene. Already mid-morning on Wednesday, Reuters was reporting these incidents: ‘ BAGHDAD – Five civilians were killed and 22 wounded, including three […]

Bush to Siniora: Drop Dead Israeli war planes struck Lebanese army targets on Tuesday: “Israeli warplanes pounded an army barracks east of Beirut in an overnight raid in which 11 troops, including four officers, were killed and 40 injured, an army statement said Tuesday.” That wasn’t a Hizbullah barracks. That was the regular Lebanese army, […]

Israel’s Maximal Option My article on the political and military aims of the Israeli government and of Hizbullah is out at Salon.com. Excerpt: Israel has a range of options. It has already made one raid into the south. It could pull back at any point. But the maximal option would be to change the human […]

Evacuation of the American University in Beirut Patrick McGreevy writes from Beirut: ‘ Friends, In the early evening, we watched from our apartment balcony as a huge white cruise ship glided past west Beirut toward Cyprus. Aboard were several groups of evacuees, including a number of US students from American University of Beirut. A few […]

Email from Beirut A friend writes from the American University in Beirut: ‘ The university has fuel (and power) for only 12 days; after that we will have a real crisis at the hospital which is already stressed with many wounded people. Refugees from the southern suburbs are now visible in Ras Beirut. I spoke […]

Israel Invades Lebanon; Ongoing Airstrikes Kill Dozens of Lebanese Civilians; Hizbullah Rockets Wound 11 in Haifa Israel invaded Lebanon on Monday, sending ground troops into the south. Israeli leaders say that they do not intend a long-term occupation. But then war is unpredictable. [UPdate: The Israeli land force briefly went over into Lebanon but then […]

Bush: Lean on Syria I cobbled the Bush-Blair exchange on Israel and Lebanon, accidentally caught at the G8 on mike, together fromWaPo and ABC News. BUSH to Blair: “I think Condi is going to go (to the Middle East) pretty soon.” BLAIR: “Right, that’s all that matters, it will take some time to get that […]

Israel Widens Airstrikes; 140 Civilians Dead since Weds; Nasrallah Threatens Haifa with Worse Attacks Israel may be planning a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, according to The Guardian. Photos of Lebanon courtesy Al-Safir. An Israeli air strike on a south Lebanese town on Sunday killed 8 Canadians and wounded 6; several were from a single […]