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Archives: May 2009
New Template
Trying it on for size. Provided free by this site.The Web is a moving target. My old template started displaying oddly to some people, with a purple patch on the text. I…US Soldier Killed Near Mosul; Maliki Gives up on Saudis
An Iraqi guerrilla killed a US soldier with a grenade near Mosul on Friday, bringing the May total for deaths of US military personnel to 22, the highest since September (though only…Army Takes Peochar
The Pakistani military claims to have taken the village of Peochar and to have cleared it of militants. It was the headquarters of Mulla Fazlullah, a top leader of the Tehrik-i Taliban…Bombings in Peshawar Kill 12;
The Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan took further revenge on Thursday for the military campaign launched against it by the Pakistani military in the Swat Valley, by setting off bombs and ambushing police and…Gingrich, Sotomayor and Hunting Giraffes
Republican poobah Newt Gingrich has lambasted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a 'racist' because she implied that a Latina woman could empathize with certain situations as a judge better than a…US Soldier Killed; Abu Ghraib Photos show Rape
Iraqi guerrillas deployed a roadside bomb to kill a US soldier in Baghdad on Wednesday. Guerrillas have killed at least 20 US troops in May, compared to only 9 last March. The…Pakistani Taliban Claim Lahore Bombing; ISI Possible Target
The death toll in the Lahore bombing on Wednesday was announced to be 26, with 250 wounded. Aljazeera English suggests that an Inter-Services Intelligence building may have been among the targets.The Tehrik-i…Lahore Bombing Kills at Least 30, Wounds 100
A car bomb exploded in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday morning, killing at least 30 and wounding 100. The death toll could rise. The bomb targeted Pakistani security and…3 Killed, Including State Department Employee, Near Falluja
Guerrillas near Falluja targeted an American convoy with a roadside bomb late Monday, killing 3 and wounding 2. One of those killed was State Department employee Terrence Barnich.Strongly Sunni Arab al-Anbar Province…Pakistani Army Advances; UN Estimates 2.3 Million Refugees
The Pakistani Army said Tuesday morning that, as part of its Swat campaign, it had taken control of another strategic center, Maalam Jabba, which had been a stronghold of and training center…22 Dead, Dozens Wounded in Mosul, Falluja Attacks; Sunni leaders Arrested in Diyala
The NYT reports that various attacks in Mosul and Falluja killed 22 on Sunday, including a suicide bombing targeting a US convoy in Mosul that missed and hit a restaurant instead. As…Pakistani Troops Enter Mingora; India and Pakistan Sharing Intelligence
India and Pakistan are now sharing intelligence on extremists for the first time. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won a second term and his Congress Party much strengthened its majority in the…Iran bans Facebook
The BBC says that Iran has banned Facebook ahead of its presidential election. Reformist candidate Mir Husain Musavi's supporters had created a Facebook page and were using it to campaign for their…Pakistani Military Takes Strategic Hilltop Overlooking Swat
The Pakistani military has announced that it has taken the strategic hilltop of Biny Baba Ziarat that overlooks the Swat Valley. Some 150 Taliban were said to be killed in the hard…Pakistani Press Suspicious that Government Made up Swat Campaign against Taliban
There is something fishy about the Pakistani military's reporting of its campaign against the Taliban in Swat, according to the Pakistani press.Dawn uses the phrase, "With scepticism growing about the progress of…Obama v. Cheney on Torture
Veteran security reporters Jonathan S. Landay and Warren Strobel at McClatchy fact-check former vice president Dick Cheney's speech defending torture and denouncing plans to close Guantanamo Bay Landay and Strobel catch the…3 US Soldiers among 23 Killed in Iraq
Bombings killed 23 persons in Iraq on Thursday, including, Iraqi officials maintain, 3 US soldiers. The attacks followed on a major bombing Wednesday that left 40 dead and 73 wounded in the…What to do About Guantanamo?
The US Congress is refusing to allow President Obama to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, a symbol of torture and abuse. Apparently their vote was driven by fears of public backlash if…Car Bomb Kills 32 at Shula; Plummeting Oil Prices Hit Iraqi Army; Agricultural Crisis Looms as Euphrates falls
A parked car bomb detonated near a popular restaurant in Shula, a poverty-stricken Shiite neighborhood in northwest Baghdad on Wednesday evening , killing 35 persons and wounding 72. It was the deadliest…2 Americans Killed in Afghanistan; Pakistani Army advances on Mingora, Peochar
A roadside bomb hit a US convoy 35 miles outside Kabul, killing one American soldier and one civilian, on Wednesday morning. Aljazeera English reports on the arrival of further US troops in…Obama/ Netanyahu Meet Produces Few Results
The Obama-Netanyahu talks were clearly a train wreck for Israel's far rightwing Likud Party. The talks went on nearly twice as long as scheduled, suggesting a lot of bumps in the road.…Kuwait Elections: 4 Women in Parliament, Shiite Reps nearly Double
Kuwait held non-party elections last weekend for its 50-member parliament, electing 21 new faces. The election for the first time of 4 women (out of 16 who ran) and a doubling of…Obama-Netanyahu must not be Kennedy-Khrushchev
Far rightwing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is meeting Monday with President Barack Obama in Washington. It is the most fateful encounter of two world leaders since Kennedy met Khrushchev. And Obama…Drone Attack on S. Waziristan Kills 29; Pakistani Military advances in Swat
In the midst of a major Pakistani military campaign against Taliban in Swat Valley, the US operated a drone against South Waziristan, firing missiles at the village of Khaisore in Mirali on…Al-Maliki Calls for Majority Rule; US Soldier Killed at Najaf, Japanese fired on at Ramadi
Nuri al-Maliki called late Thursday for an end to the consensus system in Iraqi politics, which gives Kurds and sometimes Sunni Arabs a virtual veto over legislation they do not like. In…Pakistani Army Poised to Invade Mingora; Husain: Taliban like Borg
The Pakistani army is preparing to invade and reduce the city of Mingora (pop. 200,000), the largest city in the Swat valley. During the course of the current military campaign, which pits…Australian Press Releases Abu Ghraib Photos
For those with strong stomachs, more Abu Ghraib torture photos may be seen here.They are courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald. The Australian press got hold of 60 of these some time…Da’wa Breaks with UIA; Torture Used to get up Iraq War
According to al-Zaman, writing in Arabic, Nuri al-Maliki's Islamic Mission Party (Da'wa) has rejected an appeal from cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq to run as coalition…Cole at Bill Moyers Journal re: Pakistan, Today, Friday May 15
Juan Cole and Shahan Mufti discuss the Pakistan crisis on Bill Moyers Journal, PBS, Friday May 15 (9 pm in most markets but check local listings).NEWSLETTER - Friday, May 15, 2009"This talk…Wertheim: Wilders’ Lethal Words
Anne-Ruth Wertheim writes in a guest op-ed for IC:Words can incite violence. These are the kind of words Geert Wilders used in the Dutch Parliament . . .On Wednesday January 21, 2009,…Obama Reversal on Torture Photos: Is He Afraid they would Destabilize Iraq?
President Obama has reversed himself on his earlier determination not to oppose a ruling by a Federal judge that remaining photos of the torture and abuse of prisoners by the US military…Pakistani Public Sees Taliban as Dangerous; New Front Opened at Peochar
Pakistani troops say that they have cleared Buner of Taliban guerrillas: "‘Normalcy is returning to Buner. People have started harvesting their crops and shops are reopening in the district. . ." Pakistani…Gas Attack on School girls in Afghanistan
A suspected gas attack on a girl's school sent 84 girls to hospital in Kapisa Province north of Kabul. There are suspicions that this was another piece of Taliban sabotage. Their ideology…Cole in Salon: The Hidden Hand of Dick Cheney
My column for Salon.com, "The hidden hand of Dick Cheney" is now out.Excerpt:' don't dismiss Dick Cheney as a fading punch line, or as tragedy reprised as comedy. While the Obama administration…Al-Libi Case Eloquent Testimony against Torture
The best refutation of Dick Cheney's insistence that torture was necessary and useful in dealing with threats from al-Qaeda just died in a Libyan prison. See also Andy Worthington.Al-Qaeda operative Ibn al-Shaykh…McKiernan Steps Down in Afghanistan;Pakistan Offensive continues in Swat
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced on Monday that he had fired Gen. David McKiernan. Time reports that Gates was impatient with McKiernan's failure to take charge and solve logistical and tactical…Wanda Sykes makes Short Work of Rush Limbaugh
Wanda Sykes Comedy @ White House Correspondents Dinner - 05/09/09, Part I: and Part II, which includes the destruction of Rush Limbaugh and a wicked remark on Dick Cheney:End/ (Not Continued)The Problem is Statelessness
King Abdullah II of Jordan revealed to the Times of London that the Obama administration may attempt a comprehensive peace treaty between Israel and the entire Muslim world. The latter would recognize…
NYT Review of "Engaging the Muslim World"
David E. Sanger, writing in the New York Times Book Review, reviews my new book, Engaging the Muslim World. Sanger, chief Washington correspondent of the NYT, is himself a highly experienced and…Pakistan: 700 Militants Killed; Hundreds of Thousands Displaced
In Pakistan, a suicide bomber hit a checkpoint near Peshawar on Monday morning, killing 10 The Pakistani military is claiming it has killed hundreds of militants in the fighting in the Malakand…Karzai Seeks Hikmatyar Alliance; Government’s Tie to Drug Trade President’s Brother Threatens Journalist
Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government is pursuing talks with Gulbadin Hekmatyar, an old holy warrior of the 1980s and 1990s who helped destroy Afghanistan. Hekmatyar went from being the biggest recipient of…Karzai Complains about US Air-Strikes
Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded Friday that the US military cease its aerial bombing campaigns in Afghanistan, in the wake of a mistaken bombing alleged to have killed 120 civilians in Farah…Obama to Speak from Cairo
President Obama will fulfill his pledge to make a major address to the Muslim world from a Muslim capital from Cairo on June 4.Although Egypt has a soft dictatorship and so might…Pakistan PM Vows Victory Against Taliban
On Thursday in Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced that the Pakistani government would seek no further peace deals with the Pakistani Taliban but was rather dedicated to defeating them and…
Cole at MPAC/ National Press Club
My appearance on Monday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. at an event of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in connection with the book launch of my newest, Engaging the…Return to Unity Government in Pakistan?
Reuters suggests that one of the outcomes of Wednesday's summit between Obama, Zardari and Karzai might be a US push for a national unity government in Pakistan, uniting the Pakistan People's Party…Truck Bombing in Market Kills 15; Sadrists to contest Elections Independently
Guerrillas detonated a parked truck bomb at a market in mostly Sunni Arab Dora on Wednesday morning, killing 15 and wounding 50. A big truck appears to have pulled up beside the…US Airstrike Kills Dozens; Christian Proselytizing in Muslim Afghanistan
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Washington, DC was overshadowed by a controversy over another US airstrike gone astray in Farah Province south of Herat, which left at least 30 civilians dead,…Suicide Bombing in Peshawar Kills 4 Troops; Zardari in DC for Talks with Obama, Karzai
As Pakistani president Asaf Ali Zardari arrived in Washington for talks with President Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, fighting intensified in Pakistan's northwest.On Tuesday morning, Pakistani Taliban deployed a suicide bomber…Karzai Rival Bows Out; NATO Troops Kill Girl
As President Obama prepares for Wednesday's tripartite summit between himself, the president of Pakistan (Asaf Ali Zardari) and the president of Afghanistan (Hamid Karzai), he has just gotten some bad news on…
Oglesby Review of Engaging the Muslim World
Thanks to Sam Oglesby for a searching review of my new book "Engaging the Muslim World.Excerpt: "Turning to the most troublesome current foreign policy dilemma, Mr. Cole feels that U.S. policy toward…Strouse: Lebanon’s Elections and Iranian Influence
Thomas Strouse writes in a guest op-ed for IC:Two critical elections will take place in early June that could potentially shape the direction that the Middle East region moves in the near…2 US Troops Killed Near Mosul; Iranian assault
The LAT reports that Iraqi soldiers at a base near Mosul shot and killed two US troops on Saturday and wounded a third. The US soldiers returned fire, killing one of the…