Juan Cole

AP is reporting that President Barack Obama is declining to be rushed into committing to the Afghanistan War as an open-ended project, and wants a timetable for turning security duties over to the Afghanistan National Army. AP says that the key intervention here came from US ambassador in Kabul, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, who warned […]

The most patriotic way to honor future veterans of foreign wars is not to create any unnecessarily.

The most patriotic way to honor future veterans of foreign wars is not to create any unnecessarily.

A suicide bomber detonated his payload in a market in Charsadda, a half hour drive northeast of Peshawar in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province. LAT quotes PM Yousuf Reza Gilani saying that the bombing was a desperate response to the success of the Pakistani army’s campaign against the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan. Reuters has video. […]

A suicide bomber detonated his payload in a market in Charsadda, a half hour drive northeast of Peshawar in Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province. LAT quotes PM Yousuf Reza Gilani saying that the bombing was a desperate response to the success of the Pakistani army’s campaign against the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan. Reuters has video. […]

Afghan insurgent and former prime minister Gulbadin Hikmatyar has told Aljazeera that Usama Bin Laden is alive and well. Hikmatyar, once the recipient of 20 percent of all the funds disbursed by US intelligence for fighting the Soviets, is now fighting US troops in eastern Afghanistan. He condemned bombings against the Pakistani military, saying that […]

Afghan insurgent and former prime minister Gulbadin Hikmatyar has told Aljazeera that Usama Bin Laden is alive and well. Hikmatyar, once the recipient of 20 percent of all the funds disbursed by US intelligence for fighting the Soviets, is now fighting US troops in eastern Afghanistan. He condemned bombings against the Pakistani military, saying that […]

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament approved the electoral law to govern the elections scheduled for early next year. The vote was 141 in favor out of what Al-Zaman said were 175 attending (the Iraqi parliament has 275 seats, so a simple majority is 138). AFP estimated attending MPs at 195. President Barack […]

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament approved the electoral law to govern the elections scheduled for early next year. The vote was 141 in favor out of what Al-Zaman said were 175 attending (the Iraqi parliament has 275 seats, so a simple majority is 138). AFP estimated attending MPs at 195. President Barack […]