Juan Cole

The Guerrillas who Came in from the Cold Al-Hayat [Ar.]: Sources close to the guerrilla groups in Iraq told the pan-Arab, Saudi-backed London daily, al-Hayat that new disputes have exploded between it and the organization “al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia” led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, after he carried out last Thursday’s bombings in Karbala and Ramadi. Dozens […]

17 US Troops Killed in Iraq: Baghdad Fuel Blockade and Possibility of “All Out Civil War;” US Troops Storm Sunni Mosque A US military Blackhawk helicopter went down near Tal Afar in nothern Iraq, killing all 12 persons aboard. The question is whether they were shot down. The US assaulted the city of Tal Afar […]

Kurdistan Government Unifies The two major Kurdish parties fought a major war with one another 1994-1997, during which Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party allied with Saddam Hussein and invited Baath tanks up into Irbil and Sulaimaniyah. Later on Barzani and his enemy, Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, buried the hatchet. […]

Kurdish, Shiite Parties may lack 2/3s Iraq War may Cost over $1 Trillion Revised. A Western diplomat with knowledge of the unofficial voting returns in the Dec. 15 election told the NYT that the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) that the Kurds together likely do not have 2/3s of seats in the parliament. Since selecting […]

Shiite Crowds Protest Bombings, US Support for Sunni Arabs; 11 GIs Killed The US military announced that Thursday was the bloodiest day for US troops since they entered Iraq in March, 2003. The number of GIs killed that day rose to 11. [Readers have written in to say that this assertion is not true and […]

Bremer: Bush Administration Never saw Iraq Insurgency Coming Paul Bremer, who ruled Iraq for a year after the fall of Saddam, was asked about his decision to dissolve the Iraqi army in May of 2003. “We really didn’t see the insurgency coming,” he said. Gee, Mr. Bremer was spending too much time hanging out with […]

130 Killed, Over 200 Wounded in Two Huge Bombings, Other Attacks Al-Hakim Blames Coalition for Holding Shiite Commandos Back Al-Hayat [Ar.]: Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Shiite Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq [SCIRI] and head of the dominant United Iraqi Alliance in parliament, blamed Coalition forces (including, implicitly, the US) and “local […]

Guest Editorial: The end of the Sharon Era The end of the Sharon Era, Time for a New Beginning? by Mark LeVineProfessor of Modern Middle Eastern History, University of California, Irvine ‘ As Ariel Sharon clings to his life after suffering a major stroke, commentators across the globe, including many Arab leaders, are predicting the […]

Massive Campaign of Violence Kills 68, Wounds Dozens; Bush Says Guerrillas Marginalized A horrific day unfolded in Iraq on Wednesday, with a massive bomb at a funeral, a daring raid that destroyed fuel tankers, and deadly bombings and shootings all over the center-north of the country, even reaching into the south. President Bush’s and Vice […]