Juan Cole

Helman on UN Option Ambassador Gerald B. Helman writes: “. . . On replacing the US with the UN in Iraq[:] It seems clear that US public opinion is ready for a real exit strategy. But I suspect that the Administration has not yet given up its hope of turning Iraq into a long-term strategic […]

The United Nations Strategy as a Resolution of the Iraq Crisis The United States has failed militarily in Iraq, and the situation there is deteriorating rapidly. A protracted guerrilla war is increasingly becoming an unconventional civil war. The US can mount operations against infiltrators on the Syrian border, but cannot permanently close off those borders. […]

45 Dead, Dozens Wounded in Guerrilla Attacks Restaurant Bombing Mocks Operation Lightning The Associated Press reports that a guerrilla wearing a bomb belt walked into a restaurant near the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad that was popular with Iraqi police and soldiers, and detonated his payload, killing 23 and wounding 45. Patrick Quinn writes, ‘ […]

Fixing the Intelligence Around the Facts Part Deux AP has gotten hold of the text of some more Downing Street Memos. Mark Danner at Tomdispatch.com has further thoughts about the Downing Street Memo and reactions to the dismissals of its significance in the mainstream press. Justin Raimondo explores one source of the controversy around the […]

US & UK Bombing raids on Iraq in summer 2002 were illegal Michael Smith of the London Sunday Times continues his reporting on leaked British memos from 2002 that shed light on the decision-making process that led to the Iraq war. Today he explores the implication of the US/UK bombing campaigns against Iraq, which Gen. […]

Al-Hakim Hails Iran for its Cultural and Religious Privileges Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the United Iraqi Alliance list that dominates the Iraqi parliament and head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, has been visiting Iran for the past few days. He met with Supreme Jurisprudent Ali Khamenei and several other high […]

Bush Helps Hardliners Neoconservative Ahmadinejad in Lead The Iranian voting public put a hardliner and a conservative pragmatist into a run-off election with their ballots on Friday. With a turnout of 62 percent or more, voters rejected reformist youth calls for a boycott and some said they meant their vote to be a slap in […]

Fallujah Massacre of Iraqi Troops, with 14 Dead On Friday in Fallujah, a suicide bomber targeted a gathering of Iraqi troops near the headquarters of the Iraqi Islamic Party. He killed 14, and wounded 8. The IIP has been targeted by guerrillas for its relative willingness to cooperate with the US. US officials have on […]

First Round of Iran’s Presidential Elections Inconclusive Turnout Stronger than Expected The Presidential elections in Iran produced a messy result that will require a run-off between the two top candidates. The final outcome won’t be clear until Saturday afternoon at least, but it seems that former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will be one of the […]