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The New McCarthyism at Columbia My extended op-ed on the Columbia affair (“The new McCarthyism: A witch hunt against a Columbia professor, and the New York Times’ disgraceful support for it, represent the gravest threat to academic freedom in decades”) is out in Salon.com. I had earlier addressed the controversy briefly here.

Al-Qaeda Fights on in Mecca Two Muslim radicals and two policemen died Thursday in a running gun battle between the authorities and the jihadis in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The Saudis said that the gunmen were linked to al-Qaeda. There has been a string of such violent incidents between the Saudi military and […]

Assassination Attempt on Allawi 70 Bodies Recovered in Iraqi Massacres Retired Gen. John Keane, back from a fact-finding trip to Iraq, told The Hill that he thinks the Iraqi guerrilla opposition is planning “spectacular” attacks to derail th political process in the country. His thesis was given some support by events on Wednesday. A suicide […]

20 Killed, 42 Wounded US Troops Humiliate Member of Parliament Guerrillas killed some 20 persons in Iraq on Tuesday and late Monday night, according to ash-Sharq al-Awsat. In the upscale Sunni Azamiyah district of Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed 4 National Guards and wounded 38 persons when he attacked a police recruitment center. Gunmen assassinated […]

Outgoing Interior Minister Warns on Iran, Badr Corps Falah al-Naqib, the interior minister in the expiring government of Iyad Allawi, warned Tuesday that melding the Shiite Badr Corps into the new Iraqi security forces would be a mistake. He also blamed Iranian intelligence for the rumors that Sunni guerrillas had taken over 100 Shiites hostage […]

Badr: Foreign Troops Unneeded The Badr Corps claims to be in military control of Muthanna province, including the city of Samawah. Regional Badr leader Hadi al-Amiri said Monday that Samawah is secure, and there is no need for Australian troops to be deployed there. The Dutch used to be stationed in Samawah but have gone […]

Ex-Baathists Excluded Police Poorly Trained The United Iraqi Alliance (Shiite religious parties) who now dominate the Iraqi government are insisting on purging the Iraqi government of former members of the Baath Party and trying any who might be associated with crimes. They are also dismissive of attempts to reach out to Sunni guerrilla movements. The […]

17 Killed in Iraq, including 2 US Troops The guerrilla war rolled along on Saturday, claiming at least 17 victims dead and more wounded. Guerrillas detonated a bomb in the eastern city of Baquba, killing 7 persons, including police, and wounding 5. Guerrillas assassinated a policeman in southern Baghdad. Police were also killed in violent […]

News Roundup Bush and his agendas (social security privatization, the Iraq War) continue to slide in the polls. Americans turn out to want a timetable for withdrawal of US troops just as much as Iraq’s Sunni Arabs do! (69 percent want a clear goal and don’t think Bush has articulated one.)