Juan Cole

Iraq’s parliament accepted the resignation of speaker Mahmoud Mashhadani on Tuesday, and then promptly voted on a bill that provides a legal framework for 4000 British troops and a few other small multinational contingents to operate in Iraq until this summer, when they likely will leave. Aljazeera English reports on the Iraqi drug smugglers moving […]

Reuters reports: ‘”The U.S. military said in a statement that a U.S. Marine died on Sunday after being wounded in fighting in Iraq’s western Anbar province. MOSUL – Gunmen killed two people in a drive-by shooting in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. MOSUL – One person was killed in […]

A team of biologists at Lebanese American University estimates that 1 in 17 persons around the Mediterranean carries genetic markers distinctive to the ancient Phoenician people who resided in what is now Lebanon. The Phoenicians spread out in a trade diaspora two millennia ago, establishing colonies from Spain to Cyprus. The team also found that […]

The trial of Iraqi journalist Muntazar al-Zaidi for assaulting W. with a shoe will begin later this week in Baghdad. Al-Zaidi, who became a hero in much of the Muslim world, is planning a lawsuit against the Iraqi security forces for beating him while he was in custody, on the grounds that they tortured him. […]

I was in Long Beach,Ca. on Saturday for the annual conference of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, where Pastor Rick Warren and I were both headliners. Also appearing on the stage Saturday evening were Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad, singing Ring the Bells. Before I go further, I just want to praise MPAC as the […]

Shoewhack (v.) To assault someone with footwear in such a way as to humiliate that individual, especially at a moment of supposed triumph or obvious hypocrisy. A shoewhacking generally involves an element of surprise. It is especially appropriate for individuals guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors who have for reasons of wealth and power nevertheless […]

The Iraqi parliament has rejected a draft bill submitted by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki specifying the rules under which some 4,000 British troops and small contingents from Australia, El Salvador, Estonia and Romania may remain in Iraq past Dec. 31, 2008. The vote was 80 to 68. The Sadr Movement, which opposes […]

The employees of the Interior and Defense ministries who were arrested earlier this week were released on Friday at the insistence of Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani, who just returned from abroad. He appears to have seen the arrests as a strike at him and his ministry. Muntazir al-Zaydi, the journalist who shoebushed the US president, […]

Gitanjali Bakshi writes in a guest op-ed for IC: “The Mumbai attacks and a potential resurrection of the ‘War on Terror’ threaten to polarize the India-Pakistan, Israel-Palestine nexus. If not dealt with carefully, these attacks may exacerbate inter-state rivalries and consequently encourage the growth of terrorist networks instead of actually quelling the problem. * * […]