Juan Cole

No Government and 16 Dead US Generals revealed on Sunday that a) guerrillas in Iraq are able to keep the number of attacks at about 60 a day and b) that the proportion of fighters that is foreign jihadis has increased somewhat in the past few months. (The proportion seems to have been about 5 […]

The GoogleSmear as Political Tactic The Google search has become so popular that prospective couples planning a date will google one another. Mark Levine, a historian at the University of California Irvine, tells the story of how a radio talk show host called him a liar because he referred to an incident that the host […]

3 US Troops Killed Ansar al-Islam Rounded Up A car bomber managed to kill two US troops in Baghdad on Saturday. A Marine died fighting in Anbar province. Iraqi security forces backed by the Americans also busted some cells of Ansar al-Sunna, a small terrorist group, in Baghdad, which had been planning bombings during an […]

Rozen on Ghorbanifar Am behind on my reading and just getting to Laura Rozen and Jeet Heer’s article on the Paris Iranian exiles and their influence on how Washington sees Tehran. Rozen has been doing excellent work on the continued role of Ghorbanifar, who had been involved in the Iran/Contra scandal and is sort of […]

Massive Protest in Bahrain Reuters is estimating that 80,000 demonstrators came out in Bahrain on Friday to demand a new constitution. The demonstration, which was peaceful, had been forbidden by Minister of Interior Sheikh Rashed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, but he was ignored. He is now talking about trying to prosecute the leaders of the […]

23 Dead in 4 Car Bombings, Other Violence The guerrilla war in Iraq marched on, on Friday, with four big carbombs and other attacks that left a total of some 23 persons dead, including at least one US soldier in Anbar province. (This conclusion is reached on the basis of the report linked here as […]

News roundup The American Israel Public Affairs Committee spy case is heating up again. The FBI clearly believes that AIPAC is at the center of an important political conspiracy, but may not be able to make the whole case in the legal system. Whatever the outcome of the case, AIPAC should have to register as […]

No Government any Time Soon in Iraq The formation of a government in Iraq has been put off yet again, possibly until April 1 or beyond, according to AFP. The Shiites and the Kurds say they are close to agreement. But they could remain only close to an agreement for a long time. Parliament may […]

Sunni Arabs Struggle with New Realities Ash-Sharq al-Awsat reports that Sunni Arabs are unhappy with the small number of ministries being offered them in the new government. They want at least 6, with at least one being a major executive post (e.g. Defense, Interior, etc.) Adnan Pachachi reveals that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani attempted to […]