Juan Cole

Political Gridlock, Violence, Continue Protests Against “Liberation” Day Violence left 16 dead and others wounded on Sunday, the anniversary of the fall of Saddam (see below). Shiite leaders met Sunday to attempt to resolve the gridlock over the formation of a new government led by Ibrahim Jaafari. It failed. Now the leaders say they will […]

Another Shrine hit, with 6 Dead Mubarak Warns on Civil War, US Withdrawal Reuters reports that guerrillas hit yet another Shiite shrine on Saturday this one at Musayyib, killing 6 and wounding 21 (-Al-Sharq al-Awsat). Guerrillas ambushed police in Baquba, wounding 4, along with 4 civilians. In a separate attack in that city, they managed […]

3 US Troops Killed Al-Saghir Blames Sunni Arab Parties, Press for Mosque Bombing The US military announced the deaths of 3 GIs in Iraq on Friday. Jalal al-Din al-Saghir is the Shiite politician who may have been targeted by the suicide bombing of the Buratha mosque on Friday that killed over 80 and wounded at […]

Breaking News: 78 Dead, Dozens Wounded in Shiite Mosque Attack Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports that suicide bombers detonated their bombs at the Shiite Buratha in the northwestern Baghdad just after Friday prayers ended but before the worshippers began exiting. KarbalaNews.net says that Iraqi security forces report that the bombers were mingling with the worshippers. It says […]

Wounded US Troops Face Lifetime of Disabilities Karbala Province breaks off Relations with US Reuters reports the other guerrilla violence in Iraq besides the car bombing in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, which killed at least 13 and wounded 40: ‘HASWA – Five civilians were killed and another two wounded when gunmen shot at […]

Bush: Leaker-in-Chief? Bush as Johnson + Nixon Irv Lewis Libby, the former chief of staff for trigger-happy VP Richard Bruce Cheney is now alleging that Cheney told him that W. himself authorized the leak of classified Iraq information. Although he is probably referring to the leak of the National Intelligence Estimate, his implication is that […]

Breaking News: Najaf Carbombing Kills 15, Wounds 40 Unknown assailants set off a car bomb in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Thursday, killing 15 and wounding 40, according to local police. Tensions have been rising in the city between the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Badr Corps paramilitary of the Supreme […]

UIA Divisions Endanger Security in Shrine Cities Iraqi politicians said on Wednesday that the visit to Iraq of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw had proved counter-productive. Positions actually hardened with the visit. Haider al-Abadi said, “All it’s doing is hardening the position of people who are supporting Jaafari . […]

Exit Plans Senator John Kerry argues that the United States should set a May 15 deadline for the formation of a national unity government in Iraq, and then set a December 31, 2006 deadline for US withdrawal. Kerry seems to be under the impression that the US is fighting “al-Qaeda” in Iraq, which is generally […]