Juan Cole

7 Iraqis Killed, 9 more Die of Previous Injuries Al-Hayat: Guerrillas fired mortar shells at caretaker Prime Minister Iyad Allawi as he was leaving the northern city of Mosul on Thursday. Journalists accompanying him heard five explosions as his entourage was on the verge of departing the city. From the helicopters used by Allawi and […]

In Memory of Maude Meanwhile, The Scotsman reports on the British government’s agreement to deploy 850 British troops in the area southwest of Baghdad. Here’s my lay guess as to what this is about: Bush wants to flatten Fallujah as soon as the US elections are over. Flattening Fallujah requires moving another battalion or so […]

Iraq Losing Billions in Petroleum Revenues AFP reports that interim Iraqi Minister of Petroleum Thamer Ghadban says that sabotage and lack of refining capacity has cost Iraq $7 billion since March, 2003. Iraq’s production has fallen to such low levels that it actually has to import oil, paying $200 million per month for it, or […]

Washington Whodunits and the Iraq War Evangelist Pat Robertson has ignited a firestorm by telling CNN that President Bush alleged in March of 2003 that “there will be no casualties” in the Iraq war. Robertson said he had pressed the president to prepare the public for casualties. White House spinmeister Karl Rove is denying that […]

11 US Soldiers Wounded in SamarraCar Bombs & Assassinations On Wednesday, clashes in Samarra left 11 US soldiers wounded, with 8 civilians killed and 12 wounded. Reuters naughtily notes that the US had claimed to have pacified the town earlier. Also in Samarra, guerrillas detonated two car bombs, killing one child and wounding a translator. […]

Bush would Accept Islamic Iraq Bush fundamentalizes the Middle East President Bush has said that he would “accept” an “Islamic Iraq,” according to AP. If free and open Iraqi elections lead to the seating of a fundamentalist Islamic government, “I will be disappointed. But democracy is democracy,” Bush said. “If that’s what the people choose, […]

10 Dead, 109 Wounded Warren Strobel of Knight Ridder has an excellent retrospective on the damage done to the US effort in Iraq by the Department of Defense’s lack of planning for the post-war, Phase IV period. Actually, I know that serious thought was given to Phase IV in some areas of the military, especially […]

Democracy and Iraqi Universities Nancy Youssef of Knight Ridder gives us an excellent piece on the democratic process and debates at Iraq’s universities. An excerpt: ‘ Students hold protests and sit-ins, sign petitions and go on marches, all new since Saddam Hussein fell. This week, a group of students from al Mustansiriya University protested Iraqi […]

Sistani Calls for Independent Slate AFP/ ash-Sharq al-Awsat report that a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani said Monday that the spiritual leader supports the formation of a committee of “independents” to form a party ticket to contest the elections scheduled for January. Hamid al-Khaffaf said at a gathering at the Sadr Center in Najaf […]