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Middle East

Iraq
Bombs Kill 40, Wound Dozens; Al-Duri Calls for Continued Resistance; Gates Slams Militarization of Foreign Policy

Bombs Kill 40, Wound Dozens; Al-Duri Calls for Continued Resistance; Gates Slams Militarization of Foreign Policy

Juan Cole

Guerrillas launched a series of bombing campaigns in the eastern mixed province of Diyala and in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, killing at least 40 and wounding dozens. In Diyala, recruiting stations for security forces were hit, as potential recruits lined up. In Mosul, likewise, the targest were Iraqi security forces. Prime Minister […]

Iraq
Basra Security still Fragile; Offensive Planned in Diyala; Will Petrodollars Resolve Iraq Crisis?

Basra Security still Fragile; Offensive Planned in Diyala; Will Petrodollars Resolve Iraq Crisis?

Juan Cole

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the Iraqi government is about to send troops into Diyala in an attempt to tamp down violence and combat local militias there, just as was done in Basra, Maysan and Mosul. I have begun to wonder whether the secret of these campaigns is not so much the show of military […]

Iraq
Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan: A Friendly Critique

Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan: A Friendly Critique

Juan Cole

Barack Obama wants to get out of Iraq by summer 2010 but wants to send 10,000 extra troops to Afghanistan. Obama’s editorial is thoughtful and far more sensible than anything we are hearing from the White House or McCain, and I agree with most of it. But I have one quibble and one major critique. […]

Iraq
Troops Injured Outside Combat Ignored in Media; Al-Maliki Gives Away Money

Troops Injured Outside Combat Ignored in Media; Al-Maliki Gives Away Money

Juan Cole

Greg Mitchell points out that the media continue to give little coverage to non-combat-related deaths among American troops in Iraq. Actually, they seldom mention the number of those wounded in combat, much less putting them and their stories on the screen. (It happens. It is rare.) Even as much press as the electrocuted soldiers got […]

Iraq
2 GIs’ Bodies Found; US, Israel Reject Rumors of IAF Flights in Iraq

2 GIs’ Bodies Found; US, Israel Reject Rumors of IAF Flights in Iraq

Juan Cole

The bodies of two US troops MIA were recently discovered in Iraq. Have Israeli planes been flying in Iraq, in and out of US air bases, to case Iran for and attack? The Israelis are denying it. I also think it unlikely, since the US air force would have to give the Israelis its Identify […]

Iraq
Crocker on Aljazeera The Iraq-US Security Agreement

Crocker on Aljazeera The Iraq-US Security Agreement

Juan Cole

Aljazeera International reports on the current situation in Iraq and the negotiations between Iraq and the US for a Status of Forces Agreement. US Ambassador in Baghdad Ryan Crocker is interviewed at great length. This is the sort of in-depth interview with no-holds-barred questioning that has become rare on US television. Part One: And, Part […]

Iraq
Bhasin: Maliki and the Timetable: It’s all about Blackwater

Bhasin: Maliki and the Timetable: It’s all about Blackwater

Juan Cole

Madhavi Bhasin writes: On July 7th the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in an Address before the Arab Ambassadors stated that his Government was looking at the necessity of terminating foreign presence on Iraqi land and restoring full sovereignty. The U.S. public diplomacy machinery began operating in full swing after the statement was released and […]

Iraq
Knight: Out — without ‘Bloodbath’ or ‘Regional Chaos’

Knight: Out — without ‘Bloodbath’ or ‘Regional Chaos’

Juan Cole

Charles Knight writes In October of last year a Boston-area activist called me and reported that he’d recently visited an antiwar Massachusetts congressperson in order to urge that more be done to get the US out of Iraq quickly and completely. Representative Jim McGovern (MA-03-D) had replied that he was doing what he could, but […]

Iraq
Saghir: Timetable Demand not a Tactic; 53 Dead, 76 Wounded;

Saghir: Timetable Demand not a Tactic; 53 Dead, 76 Wounded;

Juan Cole

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the chances that a Status of Forces Agreement will be concluded between Baghdad and Washington have declined substantially. The intention is now to sign a memorandum of understanding instead of a SOFA, according to Shaikh Jalal al-Din Saghir, an MP, a member of the Policy Council for National Security and […]

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