Middle East

Alan Greenspan confirms that he urged the Bush administration to take out Saddam on grounds of petroleum security for the US, and says one official told him, ‘unfortunately we can’t talk about oil.’ Long-time readers know that I think restructuring the architecture of US energy security was among the major motives for the Iraq War. […]

The unstable al-Maliki government is on its last legs. The Sadr Movement (32 seats) has now formally withdrawn from the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite fundamentalist bloc that is the largest in parliament (though no longer by much). The Sadrists had withdrawn from al-Maliki’s cabinet a few months ago, but had said they would still […]

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Iraq: Plus: International Atomic Energy head Mohammad Elbaradei walked out of a meeting where he felt a Portuguese diplomat’s speech was insufficiently supportive of his call for new inspections in Iran. On the other hand, Elbaradei has been critical of the US for pushing confrontation with Tehran. Despite Elbaradei’s findings […]

The cholera epidemic in northern Iraq continues to grow, with 16,000 persons now estimated to have been infected. I grew up traveling and have seen cholera up close. You lose liquids from both major orifices and have trouble keeping anything down, and eventually if you are not treated you are dehydrated to death. It is […]

Our national discourse has now reached a point where it is a journalistic coup just to point out when a politician is lying. Thus, the headlines that Bush’s ‘troop cuts,’ announced in his speech last night, are phony, and reflect normal rotations. Patrick Cockburn, whose excellent reporting is deeply informed by his risky forays into […]

Shaikh Sattar Abu Risha, leader of the Council for the Salvation of al-Anbar Province, has been killed by a bomb set at the entrance to his farm near Ramadi. Sawt al-Iraq says that a state of emergency has been declared in the province as a result. Bush met with him on the recent trip to […]

Colonial logic is always circular. Thus, Condi Rice: the US needs to stay in Iraq to protect the US from Iraq. Also, the US needs to stay in Iraq to protect Iraq from Iran. The next part of the circle will be that the US needs to stay in Iran to accomplish both of these […]

The USG Open Source Center translates transcripts of Iraqi reactions to the testimony of Gen. David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker. Iraqi TVs Carry Further Reporting, Commentary on Congressional Testimonies 11 SepIraq — OSC SummaryTuesday, September 11, 2007 This summary highlights select Iraqi TV reporting and commentary on the testimonies before Congress made by General David […]