Juan Cole

*Usama Bin Laden has resurfaced with a 20 minute tirade broadcast by al-Jazirah, calling on his followers to attack the United States and to carry out terrorism on its soil, and calling on Iraqi Muslims to resist the coming US invasion. I think there is in fact a danger that Bin Laden will have some […]

*Asharq al-Awsat has gotten hold of a confidential Iraqi memo that outlines Saddam’s plan for a diplomatic blitz in the Arab world after the end of the Muslim holy day, the Eid al-Adha. He will send personal representatives to various Arab countries to make the case that Iraq has complied with inspections. He will offer […]

Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt, was asked at a mini-summit of Arab governments (Syria, Libya, Egypt and the head of the Muslim League) whether their deliberations could avert the looming war in Iraq. “We would make ourselves a laughing stock if we thought we could postpone a war . . . “There is the […]

*Dawn (Karachi) reported that the Council of Saudi Ulema (clergy) issued a fatwa that prohibits attacks by Muslims on non-Muslims. The ruling says that one could not just arbitrarily term persons “infidels” and then make them targets. It specifically referred to the bombing of buildings, ships, and public and private facilities in such a way […]

According to Ali Nurizadeh in Asharq al-Awsat, the British government has given Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi an undertaking that in the aftermath of the Anglo-American attack on Iraq, Iran would not be subject to any military action. Iran has been nervous about British intentions since a recent invitation was issued to Reza Pahlavi, son […]

*Colin Powell did a good job at the UN Security Council in making the case that Iraq has tried to thwart the weapons inspectors and is actively not cooperating with Resolution 1441. The Bush administration has all along known that this would be the case, and crafted 1441 as a trap for Saddam, into which […]

History News Network 2-04-03: Fact & Fiction Did Saddam Gas the Kurds? In a recent New York Times op-ed, Stephen Pelletiere argued that the March, 1988, gassing of Kurds during the waning months of the Iran-Iraq war may have been perpetrated by Iran, not Iraq. This issue has taken on importance because Iraqi President Saddam […]

*The Iranian courts–get this–have according to some sources sentenced two pollsters to 7-8 years in prison because their poll showed that a majority of Iranians favors a dialogue with the United States. This news could not be absolutely verified at time of writing. Abbas Abdi and Husayn Ghaziyan are apparently being used as object lessons. […]

Saudi astronaut Sultan b. Salman b. Abdul-Aziz, the first Arab Muslim in space, said that the accident in which the shuttle Columbia was destroyed was regrettable, as is any incident in which human life is lost. He expressed confidence that NASA’s safety procedures are impeccable, and he did not think that is where the blame […]