Juan Cole

Patel on Grand Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri as a possible Sistani Successor David Patel, in Basra, brings up the question of who would succeed Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is 73 (some say 75) if he died. He suggests that one not underestimate the chances of Kadhim al-Haeri, a long-time ayatollah and political activist associated with […]

Brown Translation, Commentary on Draft of Iraqi Fundamental Law Professor Nathan Brown of George Washington University, among the foremost US experts in Middle Eastern law, has kindly translated and commented on the draft of the Iraqi Fundamental Law published in the newspaper al-Qabas on Saturday. His commentary is informed and well worth reading. Our thanks […]

Were the Irbil Bombings Revenge for the Capture of Hasan Ghul of al-Qaeda? The London daily al-Hayat raised the question today of whether Sunday’s twin bombings of Kurdish party headquarters in Irbil (in which the death toll has risen to 67) were in revenge for the Kurdish role in capturing “Hasan Ghul,” said to be […]

Reply to Yglesias on Palestine Matthew Yglesias, a philosopher who runs a very interesting web site, cited my piece on 2/2/04 about Muqtada al-Sadr’s objecting vehemently (and, characteristically, vulgarly) to Iraq selling electricity to Israel. Matt then quoted my last sentence “Most Shiite clerics view Israel negatively because of its treatment of the Palestinians, fellow […]

At least 56 dead, over 200 Wounded in Irbil Blasts Suicide bombers blew up the headquarters of the two major Kurdish political parties in Irbil northern Iraq, on Sunday. The number killed is now being given by wire services as about 56, with about 235 wounded. The HQs were the being used for receptions in […]

Muqtada to Electricity Minister over Israel: “Go to Hell!” According to AFP, Aiham al-Samarrai, interim minister of electricity in Iraq, has said that although Iraq would not buy electricity from Israel (as it does from Turkey and Syria), at some future time it might be willing to sell electricity to Israel ““at three times the […]

Muslim Brotherhood Heads up Iraq under Americans AFP reports that the president of the Interim Governing Council for February is Muhsin Abdul Hamid, the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, the Iraqi branch of the Sunni fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood. The party was founded, according to Islam Online, in 1944 when Hasan al-Banna (founder of the […]

Details of Iraqi Draft Fundamental Law The Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas [“Firebrand”: Arabic URL] has published a draft of the Fundamental Law on which the Interim Governing Council is working. It will function as Iraq’s constitution until a new one can be fashioned, and will allow a transitional government to be installed this summer. I thought […]

14 Dead in Iraq Attacks, including 3 US Soldiers Guerrillas used a roadside bomb to kill 3 US troops near Kirkuk on Saturday. Another group car-bombed an Iraqi police station in Mosul on payday, killing 9 and wounding dozens. al-Hayat reports that guerrillas killed one leader of the Turkmen Front and wounded another by spraying […]