Juan Cole

Desertions and Church Bombings and Fallujah The Guardian has a good overview of events on Monday in Iraq. Notable were the 6 killed and 80 wounded as a result of carbombings of churches. The poor Iraqi Chaldeans and Assyrians are as Iraqi as all other citizens, but are being targeted because they share a religion […]

AMS, Sadrists forbid Fallujah Fighting as “Mortal Sin” The Iraqi Islamic Party lead by Muhsin Abdul Hamid, has been among the few Sunni Muslim groups willing to cooperate (even if rather lukewarmly) with the Americans. It is now threatening to pull out of the Allawi caretaker government. The IIP had also been the main force […]

35 Killed, Including 2 Americans The Pakistan Times does among the best jobs of summarizing the horrific news from Iraq on Sunday. Highlights: *Allawi declares Martial Law for 2 months. Maybe it is just me, but is it really possible to have democratic elections coming off 2 months of martial law? *A series of explosions […]

Polk: American Options in Iraq American Options in Iraq Guest Editorial By William R. Polk Official inquiries have verified what independent observers have long said: the invasion of Iraq was not justified; a small, remote and poor country, Iraq posed no threat to the United States. As in the Tonkin Gulf issue during the Vietnam […]

Volcanic Weekend Leaves 30 Dead, 60 wounded 14 US Troops Among Wounded An explosion of violence on Saturday and early Sunday left 30 dead and some 60 wounded, including 14 wounded Marines at Ramadi. The Washington Post reports that “Two Marines were injured by a car bomb near a Fallujah checkpoint, and a U.S. soldier […]

Gang Fight in Karbala over Elections Al-Karbala’i: Voter Registration Cards Fall Short Al-Hayat: The first victim of the electoral campaign in Iraq fell on Saturday in Karbala after a shouting match deteriorated into a knife fight between followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and the cleric, Mahmud al-Husaini. Al-Husaini, who studied with Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr […]

More on Massad Case There is now another petition site for Professor Joseph Massad of Columbia University. Darryl Li of Harvard sends in the following: “Friends and Colleagues, Many of you are probably aware of the campaign against Joseph Massad, an assistant professor in the Middle East studies department of Columbia University, by a pro-Israel […]

24 Dead in Samarra Guerrillas in Samarra detonated three car bombs on Friday, killing some 24 persons and wounding dozens. The guerrillas targeted national guards’ outposts, policemen, and US troops. Samarra had been the target of a US military assault similar to that now being undertaken against Fallujah. The US had given assurances that it […]

Annan Condemns US Assault on Fallujah It seems to me that Kofi Annan’s letter attempting to forestall a US levelling of Fallujah puts the Allawi caretaker government, which rejected it, in a potential dilemma. The caretaker government was appointed by an envoy of Mr. Annan, so if he lacks the standing to speak out on […]