Juan Cole

Situation Around Najaf remains Tense Muqtada al-Sadr and his movement remain defiant. In Basra, about 800 Sadrists held a demonstration, led by Shaikh Abdul Sattar al-Bahadili, in which they alleged that the British were responsible for the recent horrific bombings. Many Basrans angry, at the very least, at the UK troops for allowing the bombings […]

Hitchens Questions on Iraq A reader sent me these questions that he said Christopher Hitchens had posed. I then found them at his web site. They are: 1) Do you believe that a confrontation with Saddam Hussein’s regime was inevitable or not? 2) Do you believe that a confrontation with an Uday/Qusay regime would have […]

More on Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony: Cole and Dodge Here are oral comments of myself and Toby Dodge last Tuesday at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Senator Lugar: . . . Dr. Dodge. MR. DODGE: Well, thank you very much for the invitation to present here today. It’s a great sorrow that it’s […]

Perle at the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations It was quite an experience to be on the same panel on Tuesday with Richard Perle and Toby Dodge, before the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Perle wasn’t added until the last minute, and it is mysterious why he was there, since ours was supposed to […]

Brahimi Criticizes US Bias Toward Israel Al-Hayat reports that UN special envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi remarked on Wednesday that it was unjust for the US to show such a strong bias in favor of Israeli repression, and that it was making his job in Iraq more difficult. Roula Khalaf also describes in the Financial […]

Jaafari Suggests to Muqtada that he go into Exile az-Zaman reports from Najaf that informed sources are saying that the chief intermediary between the Coalition and Muqtada al-Sadr right now is the leader of the al-Da`wa Party, Ibrahim Jaafari, who is presently in Najaf. The sources said that Jaafari met al-Sadr on Wednesday and suggested […]

Cole Testimony at Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 20 US Mistakes in Iraq by Juan Cole Testimony before Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, April 20, 2004 This brief addresses three areas. First, what mistakes have been made in the Coalition administration of Iraq, and why? Second, what is the current situation? Third, what steps can […]

Basra Toll rises to 68 Dead, 238 Wounded, Including Children Riyadh Shaken by Blasts, As Well The horrific series of bombings at police stations in Basra have also killed or injured large numbers of civilians, including children, and cast a pall of dread over the southern port city. Basra had been spared major violence during […]

Has the al-Khoei Family Intervened on Muqtada’s Behalf? Received the following from an Iraqi reader: ‘ My uncle in Baghdad who is absolutely not a supporter of Moqtada tells me that the Al-Koei family has jointly written a letter to the CPA stating that they do not hold Moqtada responsible for the mob that killed […]