Muqtada Will Negotiate without Preconditions: Iran Involved Reuters is reporting that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ceased demanding a US pullback from Najaf as […]

Mediation with Muqtada and the Limits of Tolerance The Scotsman reports that the standoff between the American forces and those of Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf […]

Arguing with Bush I saw President Bush’s news conference Tuesday evening. He said many things that disturbed me, not in any partisan sort of way […]

Shadid: “It’s Pretty Bad Here.” It isn’t often that one gets to hear a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist speak in his own voice from the field, […]

Cole and Gerecht on Shiites of Iraq (Lehrer Newshour) The text of my appearance on the Lehrer News Hour is available at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june04/alsadr_04-13.html.

Shiite Negotiators Warn US The report about Sistani’s strongly-worded message to the US warning them against attacking Najaf is now available in English. I haven’t […]

6 US Troops’ Deaths Announced; 4 Police Killed ash-Sharq al-Awsat/AFP: The US military authorities announced Monday that guerrillas had killed 6 US troops in the […]

Shiite Leaders Negotiate with Muqtada The London daily ash-Sharq al-Awsat reports that attempts to mediate between radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and the US are […]

Sistani Threatens Shiite Resistance if US Invades Najaf The Iranian newspaper Baztab is reporting that Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has sent a strongly-worded message to […]