Iraq

Reuters Arabic reports that the Saudi invasion of Bahrain on Monday has inflamed sectarian passions in Iraq. Likewise it has angered Iran, which openly condemned the move. Sectarian tensions are boiling throughout the Gulf. Security forces, possibly including Saudi troops, moved Wednesday morning against the hundreds of protesters still camped out at the Pearl Roundabout […]

Egypt

These are Not Bush’s Revolutions: Cole in Truthdig

Juan Cole

My column is out in Truthdig, entitled “People Power vs. Washington”. Excerpt: ‘The claim that George W. Bush’s war of aggression against Iraq somehow opened up the Middle East to reform is an affront to the brave crowds that have risked their lives to change the American-backed order in that part of the world. Bush’s […]

Iraq

Libya Skirmishes as Saudi Quivers and Iran, Iraq under Pressure

Juan Cole

Aljazeera reports that by Wednesday morning pro-Qaddafi forces had retaken Gharyan and Sabratha in the northwest, and had tried and failed to take the oil town of Brega in the east. Qaddafi’s jets also bombed arms depots in rebel-held Ajdabiya. Pro-Qaddafi forces had secured the country’s Western border with Tunisia on Tuesday and then attacked […]

Iraq

The World Oil Politics of the Libyan Revolt

Juan Cole

The question of what comes after Qaddafi became more complicated on Sunday, as rival claims to forming a provisional liberated government emerged. Former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil had announced on Saturday from Benghazi that he would head an interim government. But on Sunday human rights attorney Abdel-Hafidh Ghoga said from Benghazi that an interim government […]

Afghanistan

Clueless in the District of Columbia (Engelhardt)

Juan Cole

I was thinking that in light of the labor and youth revolutions of 2011, Washington’s focus on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the past two decades seems increasingly odd, like a set of fixations. They originated in the Cold War and in a frantic attempt to keep petroleum inexpensive so that alternative energy did […]

Iraq

Iraq Roiled by Protests, 2 Killed in Sulaimaniya

Juan Cole

What I can’t understand is, if the American Right Wing were correct that George W. Bush was ‘right’ in trying to kick start democracy in the Middle East by invading and occupying it, then why would it be necessary for people to demonstrate and burn government buildings in… Iraq? And why have 5 people been […]

Egypt

Pressman: The Cyclical vs. the Fundamental in U.S. Policy

Juan Cole

Jeremy Pressman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment The Cyclical vs. the Fundamental in U.S. Policy: Suddenly both are in flux If you run Washington, how best to maintain the flow of Persian Gulf energy supplies at a reasonable price, protect Israel, and – choose your era – block the Soviets or undermine […]

Iraq

Iraq’s Civil War Grinds on, with 62 Dead, 200 Wounded in Karbala Blasts

Juan Cole

Bombings took the lives of 62 Shiite pilgrims, mostly in the holy city of Karbala, but also in Diyala province. Sunni Arab guerrillas are still attempting to destabilize the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki by provoking Shiite-Sunni feuds and spreading a feeling of instability that interferes with investment and reconstruction. On Tuesday, a […]

Iraq

Sadr Demands Oil Shares for Iraqis, Insists on US Withdrawal

Juan Cole

Washington observers are worried that the return to Iraq of Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr will forestall a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement. The SOFA specifies that the remaining 47,000 US troops be out of Iraq by the end of this year. The military-industrial complex wants to find a way of keeping thousands of US […]