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Patel on Religious Authority For a quick primer on religious authority in Iraq, Sunni and Shiite, from an academic who has been living there for the past year, see David Patel’s piece, just published by the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. Patel writes, “Freed from state control, religious authorities—drawing on their moral authority and extensive mass […]

Iran Strongly Condemns US Operations in Najaf, Karbala Supreme Jurisprudent Ali Khamenei of Iran finally broke his silence about the US military operations in Najaf and Karbala on Sunday. I had presumed that his earlier caution was a function of his support for Sistani and al-Hakim versus Muqtada al-Sadr. But apparently the rage in Iran […]

Iran Strongly Condemns US Operations in Najaf, Karbala Supreme Jurisprudent Ali Khamenei of Iran finally broke his silence about the US military operations in Najaf and Karbala on Sunday. I had presumed that his earlier caution was a function of his support for Sistani and al-Hakim versus Muqtada al-Sadr. But apparently the rage in Iran […]

Rumsfeld Plays “M”, Gives License to Kill Sy Hersh’s expose of an ultra-secret 00 unit of two hundred inside the Pentagon is probably the nail in the coffin of Rumsfeld’s tenure at the Department of Defense, and may well be a factor in the presidential elections. Disturbingly, Sen. Joe Lieberman endorsed torture as an information […]

Rumsfeld Plays “M”, Gives License to Kill Sy Hersh’s expose of an ultra-secret 00 unit of two hundred inside the Pentagon is probably the nail in the coffin of Rumsfeld’s tenure at the Department of Defense, and may well be a factor in the presidential elections. Disturbingly, Sen. Joe Lieberman endorsed torture as an information […]

The Implication of Shiite Divisions Scott Wilson of the Washington Post says that “A Divided South Moves to the Fore in Iraq.” The main point of the article is that the situation in Najaf is different from that in Fallujah because the Shiites are themselves divided, whereas in Fallujah the Sunnis were relatively united. Thus, […]

The Implication of Shiite Divisions Scott Wilson of the Washington Post says that “A Divided South Moves to the Fore in Iraq.” The main point of the article is that the situation in Najaf is different from that in Fallujah because the Shiites are themselves divided, whereas in Fallujah the Sunnis were relatively united. Thus, […]

Heavy Fighting in Karbala, Amara, Nasiriyah, Samawah 5 Americans Dead; British Kill 20 Near Amara The Shiite uprising of Muqtada al-Sadr continued Saturday, as it clashed with Coalition forces throughout the south of the country. Guerrillas killed 3 US soldiers Friday night or Saturday, while two others died of non-combat-related causes. al-Hayat and ash-Sharq al-Awsat: […]

Heavy Fighting in Karbala, Amara, Nasiriyah, Samawah 5 Americans Dead; British Kill 20 Near Amara The Shiite uprising of Muqtada al-Sadr continued Saturday, as it clashed with Coalition forces throughout the south of the country. Guerrillas killed 3 US soldiers Friday night or Saturday, while two others died of non-combat-related causes. al-Hayat and ash-Sharq al-Awsat: […]