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Middle East

Iraq
Muqtada Hits the Books; Said to aim at one day being Ayatollah

Muqtada Hits the Books; Said to aim at one day being Ayatollah

Juan Cole

The Associated Press reports that Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr has gone back to his studies of Shiite law and jurisprudence in Najaf. He began work toward becoming an independent jurisprudent (mujtahid) in 2000 under the supervision of Muhammad Ishaq Fayyad (an Afghan grand ayatollah), AP says, but since 2003 his political duties have taken him away […]

Iraq
40 Dead, 125 Wounded in Amara Bombings; Bombings in Baghdad leave 30 Dead or Wounded

40 Dead, 125 Wounded in Amara Bombings; Bombings in Baghdad leave 30 Dead or Wounded

Juan Cole

Militiamen detonated three car bombs in downtown Amara on Wednesday, killing over 40 persons and wounding 125. The southern Shiite city of Amara–capital of Maysan province–has seen fighting between the Mahdi Army and the Badr Corps (or police recruited from the Badr Corps), as part of a contest between their parent parties, the Sadr Movement […]

Iraq
Rubaie: No Permanent Bases; Bombing Near Allawi’s Compound; Basra Christians cancel Christmas Celebrations

Rubaie: No Permanent Bases; Bombing Near Allawi’s Compound; Basra Christians cancel Christmas Celebrations

Juan Cole

Iraq’s national security adviser, Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, said Tuesday that the Iraqi nation would never permit permanent US military bases in that country. He named some areas where there would be continuing US support for the Iraqi military. The announcement does not envision an early departure of US forces, and seems mainly intended to blunt criticisms […]

Iraq
Muqtada al-Sadr Regroups Sadrists Condemn al-Hakim’s Visit to Washington Mortars hit Prison

Muqtada al-Sadr Regroups Sadrists Condemn al-Hakim’s Visit to Washington Mortars hit Prison

Juan Cole

Sam Dagher of the Christian Science Monitor is a good reason to subscribe to CSM. He reports on the way Muqtada al-Sadr is using his ‘freeze’ on Mahdi Army activities to organize cadres and turn his organization into something like Hizbullah in Lebanon. Dagher also provides the most connected and detailed count I have seen […]

Iraq
Police Chief of Hilla Killed; And, 40 Women Killed in Basra

Police Chief of Hilla Killed; And, 40 Women Killed in Basra

Juan Cole

Guerrillas deployed a roadside bomb to kill the police chief of Hilla, a largely Shiite city south of Baghdad. AP reports that “Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women this year in the southern Iraqi city of Basra because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against “violating Islamic teachings […]

Iraq
Guerrilla War 3.0 in Iraq; Attacks in Bayji, Yusufiya, Elsewhere, Kill 32, Wound Dozens; Dulaimi’s Sunnis Unlikely to Rejoin Government

Guerrilla War 3.0 in Iraq; Attacks in Bayji, Yusufiya, Elsewhere, Kill 32, Wound Dozens; Dulaimi’s Sunnis Unlikely to Rejoin Government

Juan Cole

Guerrillas differ from conventional armies in that they typically avoid direct, conventional engagements on the battlefield. They melt away before a conventional army’s advance, and then reemerge to engage in sniping, sneak attacks, and bombings from an unexpected quarter. The advantage of Fred Kagan’s troop escalation or “surge” is that it allowed a tamping down […]

Iraq
Bombings in Diyala Kill over Two Dozen

Bombings in Diyala Kill over Two Dozen

Juan Cole

Bombings were back on the front page in Iraq on Saturday, with significant attacks carried out on Thursday evening and Friday. At Muqdadiya in Diyala province, a female suicide bomber blew up a meeting of the local ‘Awakening Council’ or tribal levies willing to ally with the Americans against the radical Islamic State of Iraq. […]

Iraq
3 US Troops Killed; 25 Slaughtered in Car Bomb Spree Iraq Refugees in Syria Face Hunger, Cold

3 US Troops Killed; 25 Slaughtered in Car Bomb Spree Iraq Refugees in Syria Face Hunger, Cold

Juan Cole

Four major bombings around Iraq left at least 25 dead and dozens more wounded on Wednesday. Al-Hayat says that a car bomber detonated his payload near the Abd al-Rasul Shiite religious center (Husayniya) in Karrada. It is expected that the count of 15 killed will rise, given the size of the explosion and how crowded […]

Iraq
Cole in Salon: Why Bush’s Troop Surge Won’t Save Iraq

Cole in Salon: Why Bush’s Troop Surge Won’t Save Iraq

Juan Cole

My Salon column, “Why Bush’s troop surge won’t save Iraq,” is now online. Excerpt: ‘the only truly good news to come from Iraq would be good news regarding the political landscape. And there, Iraq is still beset with problems. In recent days, parts of northern Iraq have been invaded by Turkey, an ally of the […]

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