More on Iraq’s provincial elections, slated for Saturday for most people, though some categories of voter have already voted,on Wednesday (e.g.police, the sick). This sample is a skewed one and might not be representative of the electorate. But the early results of this vote , according to al-Hayat writing in Arabic, could tell us something […]
Talabani’s PUK Worried about Iraqi Army in Kirkuk
The USG Open Source Center translates a Kurdish newspaper article warning of Iraqi central government aspirations to have its army take over the northern oil city of Kirkuk (where the police and security forces are largely Kurdish). The Kurdistan Regional Government wishes to annex Kirkuk to itself, but this move is being resisted by Baghdad […]
Purohit & Atallah: International Justice Systems and the Muslim World: Why Bashir is Wrong
Raj Purohit and Amjad Atallah write in a guest op-ed for IC: If the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in February, it will certainly be met by a volley of criticism from the accused as he continues to frame the ICC as a tool of the west […]
Croken: Found in Translation– How a Thirteenth Century Islamic Poet Conquered America
Ryan Croken on translating the mystical poet Rumi, and on how Muslims are translated and mistranslated in America. Jalal al-Din Rumi was born in Afghanistan, wrote mainly in Persian, and lived much of his life in Konya, in what is now Turkey. He has some mixed Persian/ Arabic and Persian/ Greek verses, as well. Coleman […]
Obama on the Middle East
The transcript of President Obama’s interview on al-Arabiya Television (Dubai)is at the latter’s site and I will mirror it here, below. Just a few quick observations. Obama emphasized respect for the Muslim world, affirmed that the United States is not its enemy, and that, on the contrary, Washington has a stake in the well-being and […]
Blog of the Day
A shout out to comedian Margaret Cho, whose material I’ve always found fresh, insightful and funny. As a public speaker who sometimes delves into humor, I can attest that it is way more difficult than most people think. But Margaret is clearly also into other cultural and charitable activities of interest. Just thought I’d suggest […]
Cole/ Marsh Debate on Obama’s Bombing of Pakistan
My Democratic Party colleague Taylor Marsh took exception to my Salon piece on Obama’s decision to bomb Pakistan during his first week in office. I always welcome vigorous debate and believe that arguing substance in public is essential to our attaining the ideals of a democratic republic. I value Taylor Marsh’s perspective and we have […]
Iraqi Politicians seek Wins in Provincial Elections
The big news in Iraq this week is the provincial elections due to be held on Saturday. These elections will have little direct impact on the Federal parliament or cabinet, since new parliamentary elections won’t be held until December. But they will bolster or weaken existing parties at the center by acting as bellwethers of […]
Cole in Salon: Obama’s Vietnam?
My column is out in Salon.com: “Obama’s Vietnam? Friday’s airstrikes are evidence Obama will take the hard line he promised in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But he should remember what happened to another president who inherited a war. Excerpt: “On Friday, President Barack Obama ordered an Air Force drone to bomb two separate Pakistani villages, killing […]
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