Juan Cole

Baldauf: Najaf Standoff Helped Muqtada CSM journalist Scott Baldauf, who has his ear to the ground in Iraq in a way that US officialdom seldom does, believes that Muqtada al-Sadr benefited politically from the recent standoff in Najaf. He writes, ‘ Six months ago, Sheikh Jawad al-Khalasi was what most would consider an Iraqi Shiite […]

Newsweek: Franklin Confesses AIPAC Under Separate FBI Investigation Laura Rozen directs our attention to the new Newsweek article by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, which has several new details on the Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal in the Pentagon. First, Franklin’s passing of confidential documents to AIPAC was discovered because AIPAC was already under FBI surveillance […]

Pentagon/Israel Spying Case Expands: Fomenting a War on Iran Here is my take on the Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal in the Pentagon. It is an echo of the one-two punch secretly planned by the pro-Likud faction in the Department of Defense. First, Iraq would be taken out by the United States, and then Iran. David […]

Israeli Spy in Pentagon Linked to AIPAC CBS is reporting that a Defense Intelligence Agency analyst detailed to Undersecretary of Defense for Planning Douglas Feith’s Office of Special Plans is under FBI investigation for spying for Israel. The person passed to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee confidential documents, including those detailing Bush administration policy […]

Thousands Stream into Shrine of Ali Muqtada orders Followers to Disarm CNN’s Kianne Sadeq continues her excellent reportage from Najaf. She and her team report that supporters of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani streamed into the shrine of Ali in Najaf. After reaching an agreement with Sistani, Muqtada pledged to ask his men to leave the […]

Cole on Lehrer, CNN I will be on the Lehrer News Hour tonight talking about Sistani and the settlement he has reached with Muqtada al-Sadr. Also on CNN Headline News either at 7-7:30 or 7:30-8:00 EST

Sistani Arrives in Najaf Dozens Dead in Kufa Mosque Mortar attack Abdul Hussein al-Obeidi of AP reports that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has arrived in Najaf and gone to a house about a mile from the besieged shrine of Ali. He has asked the thousands of marchers with him to wait outside the city. Caretaker […]

Cole as Issue in Oklahoma Senate Campaign In this month’s Wired magazine, an article entitled “The Dean Machine Marches On” looks at the internet, blogging, and political campaigns. In the profile on p. 141 of Brad Carson, a Native American and Blue Dog Democrat running for an Oklahoma senate seat, it is written: “But the […]

Sistani in Najaf Today As I write very early Thursday morning, Sistani ‘s convoy had left Basra on its way to Najaf several hours to the north. Al-Jazeerah says his convoy is being accompanied by Iraqi police. The Guardian’s Michael Howard scored a coup with an interview with Ayatollah Muhammad Bahr al-Ulum, who is close […]