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Sadr’s Mahdi Army Regrouping Ann Scott Tyson of the Christian Science Monitor has a fine piece today on how Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia is regrouping and continuing to engage in vigilante practices. There is also an allegation that Iranians are helping re-arm the militia, though the numbers mentioned in Najaf (80) don’t seem to me to […]

American Islam David Crumm, religion correspondent of the Detroit Free Press, has written a highly significant portrait of Sheikh Hasan Qazwini, a key Shiite cleric in Dearborn near Detroit. Qazwini comes across as a complex and innovative figure, struggling to mediate between his tradition (he was born in Karbala, Iraq) and contemporary Michigan modernity. Although […]

Arguing with Bush yet Again President Bush gave a speech on Tuesday in which he made specific claims about how the United States is safer as a result of his military action. I dispute assertions about particular Middle Eastern or South Asian countries. ‘ “The world is changing for the better because of American leadership. […]

7 Die in Green Zone Bombing Olympic Head Avoids Assassination Reuters reports that guerrillas killed at least 7 persons with a car bomb at the entrance of the Green Zone (which houses US and interim Iraqi government personnel. The head of Iraq’s Olympic committee, Ahmad al-Hajiya, barely escaped being killed by a roadside bomb in […]

Iraqi Police Arrest 527 in Dragnet Sistani calls for National Unity Al-Zaman: Iraqi police swept the al-Rusafah quarter of Baghdad on Tuesday, arresting 527 persons suspected of having committed violent crimes or of having been involved in weapons smuggling. They also made arrests of foreigners in the Bab al-Shaikh Quarter. This set of mass arrests […]

60% of Iraqi Historical Records Gone Valentinas Mite of Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty tells us more about the destruction of a substantial portion of Iraq’s archives. Saad Iskandar, Director of the Iraqi Archives, is quoted as saying, ‘ “We lost about 60 percent of our state records and documents — they were either burned […]

Abu Ghuraib Shelled; Roadside Bombs in Baghdad Wire services report that Guerrillas fired mortar rounds at Abu Ghuraib prison outside Baghdad on Monday, lightly wounding a civilian “contractor” (likely a private security guard or translator, but the report is not specific). This attack marked the sixth time the prison has been attacked in this way. […]

Voice of America Imperilled Alan Heil, author of an important history of the Voice of America, sends along dire news about the service. For Arabic broadcasting, this development is rather as if the government abolished National Public Radio and replaced it with Mr. Pattiz’s Westwood One pablum and top 40 list. Americans should please communicate […]

Iraqi Economy: Setser Replies Reader and economist Brad Setser responded to my comment on the Financial Times article on the Iraqi economy last weekend. I . . . have tried to follow Iraq closely (both the debt restructuring forgiveness debate, the use of oil revenues, the loans v. grants debate and more generally the pace […]