Juan Cole

Marine General’s Idea of Fun Marine Lt. General James Mattis said Thursday ‘ “Actually, it’s a lot of fun to fight. You know, it’s a hell of a hoot. … It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right upfront with you, I like brawling.” He added, “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who […]

Karl Rove’s Memo to Bush on the Middle East Note to the humorless: Satire Warning M E M O From: Karl Rove To: W. Re: State of the Union and the Middle East Problem: The big steps toward open parliamentary elections in the Arab world have happened in Morocco, Jordan, Yemen and Bahrain. We didn’t […]

Guerrillas Kill 11 as Mosul & Ninevah Demonstrate Security problems are reemerging as traffic gets back to normal. Al-Zaman says that Tuesday and Wednesday 11 persons were killed in Baghdad, including 8 policemen and army troops. Iraqi officials admitted Wednesday that the election held on Sunday was flawed. Wire services also report an assassination attempt […]

The Bombing I don’t always agree with Dahr Jamail, an independent journalist in Iraq. I don’t think the US used chemical weapons at Fallujah, and I don’t think people were coerced to vote via their food ration cards. But Dahr’s report on the US bombing campaign on civilian neighborhoods in Iraqi cities, which the US […]

Religious Shiites claim Victory Abdul Aziz al-Hakim claimed victory in the Sunday elections for the United Iraqi Alliance, the coalition of religious Shiite parties he leads. And this is what the winners, if they are winners, think of the US: ‘ “No one welcomes the foreign troops in Iraq. We believe in the ability of […]

3 Marines Killed, 2 Wounded Violent clashes broke out Tuesday into early Wednesday between guerrillas and US Marines in the vicinity of Fallujah, according to LBC (Lebanese satellite television news). Al-Jazeerah is reporting US airstrikes on Ramadi, with deaths of civilians. Ash-Sharq al-Awsat reports that two explosions in Samarra killed 5 persons and wounded 6. […]

Election Fallout Ash-Sharq al-Awsat: The Association of Muslims Scholars, a hardline Sunni clerical group, announced that it rejects the legitimacy of the elections, insofar as they were conducted under the shadow of occupation. AMS spokesman Umar Raghib disputed the reports of a high election turnout, especially in Sunni Arab areas. He said that turnout was […]

Guest Editorial: Fisher on Perle and Iran THE PRINCE OF WONDERLAND By William Fisher Good news! The Prince of Darkness has morphed into The Prince of Peace. Having fixed Iraq, Richard Perle is now ready to advise us on Iran. The former Assistant Defense Secretary in the Reagan Administration, and Neocon darling, appeared on a […]

Sistani, the UIA and the Elections Anthony Shadid on Sunday in WaPo captured the edgy reality of life on the ground in Iraq in the build-up to the elections, and the anxieties of the Sunni Arabs before the advance of the Shiite political tsunami. The death toll in Sunday’s guerrilla attacks rose to 44, with […]