Blanford: A Shiite Challenge See the fine analysis by Nicholas Blanford in the Christian Science Monitor of the showdown between Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on […]

Warlords annointed by Bremer The WP reports that the US will create a new paramilitary force to fight terrorism in Iraq, and that it will […]

Accounts differ over Samarra’ The US military account of the events in Samarra’ to VOA is fuller than what we had before. Clearly this was […]

Bremer and IGC to Defy Sistani Paul Bremer has worked out a deal with the Interim Governing Council to stick with caucus-type elections rather than […]

Al-Hakim becomes President As AFP notes, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim has just become the president of the Interim Governing Council. Nine members are taking turns rotating […]

2 US Soldiers Killed Near Syria; Major Battle at Samarra’ leaves 46 Guerrillas Dead Guerrillas in the far west of Iraq, near the Syrian border, […]

IGC Fails to Agree on Election Formula Al-Sharq al-Awsat and al-Hayat reported completely differently on the 4-hour-long Interim Governing Council meeting on Sunday. Al-Sharq al-Awsat […]

Helen Thomas Blasts Rumsfeld for Closure of al-Arabiya Helen Thomas condemned the closure of al-Arabiya offices in Iraq: ‘The raid by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi officials […]

Japan Roiled by Attack on Diplomats Despite the tough rhetoric about standing his ground by Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi, opposition parties and other observers are […]