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Archives: May 2008
Suicide Bombers Kill 20, Wound Dozens in North; Firefight with Jihadis in Tikrit; VP Abdul Mahdi Praises IranP
At least 35 persons died in political violence in northern Iraq on Thursday. Suicide bombers killed 20 persons and wounded dozens in three attacks on police and recruits, with the largest attack…Haeri Fatwa Against Security Agreement; Al-Alam: Basra Pols Oppose Security Agreement with US
The USG Open Source Center translates the fatwa of Ayatollah Kadhim al-Ha'iri (Haeri) condemning any security agreement between Iraq and the United States (Via BBC Monitoring). Haeri, an Iraqi, lives in Qom…Sadr demands Referendum on SOFA; Sistani said to Support Referendum
CNN is reporting that Shiite leader Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr is demanding that any US-Iraqi security agreement be submitted to a national referendum.Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that he is in good company:' Sources…Sunni Arabs Pull out of Talks with al-Maliki; Bush Benchmark in Doubt; Marines Proselytize Sunnis with Gospel
On Wednesday, the Sunni fundamentalist Iraqi Accord Front (IAF, Tawafuq) withdrew from talks on rejoining the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of the Shiite fundamentalist Islamic Mission Party (Da'wa).Despite the confidence…Halliburton and Iran
The moral of the below: If you can't join them, beat them.Reddit readers have dug up an article by Jason Leopold alleging that Halliburton, of which Dick Cheney was CEO in 1995-2000,…McClellan: Bush in Permanent Campaign Mode, Less than Forthright on Iraq
Former White House press spokesman Scott McClellan has come to the realization that Bush's presidency veered badly off course and that the Bush White House was in "permanent campaign mode"-- by which…Sadr Threatens Weekly Demos; The Forgotten Refugees; Same old Retired Guys on the Take, on TV
Muqtada al-Sadr is urging Iraqis to hold weekly demonstrations after mosque prayers on Fridays against the proposed security agreement being negotiated by the al-Maliki government with the US. Sadr fears al-Maliki will…Cole in Salon: John McCain’s Arab-American Problem
My fortnightly column in Salon.com is now out: "John McCain's Arab-American Problem".Excerpt:' Arab-Americans do, however, have some distinctive concerns in common. They are more likely to care about the Iraq war and…2 GIs Killed, 4 Wounded on Memorial Day; Bike Bomber kills 6, wounds 18;
In a grim Memorial Day reminder of the risks facing US troops in Iraq, two sets of guerrillas used roadside bombs to kill and wound GIs on Monday. Sunni Arab guerrillas hit…White: UK Deportation of Yezza "Orwellian"
Ben White writes from Nottingham, UK with a guest editorial:“I don’t like to use clichés, but this is really Orwellian”. So said my friend Hicham Yezza, speaking to me this weekend from…War without End
Hoda Abdel Hamid of Aljazeera English has made a multi-part documentary on the Iraq conflict from January, 2006, through the present, entitled "War Without End." Truth in advertising: I make a couple…Trotta: Take Obama Out
Liz Trotta, a veteran journalist who helped pioneer a place for women at the front as war correspondents, was being interviewed on Fox News on Sunday by Eric Shawn, when she commented…Sistani Opposes SOFA; "As Long as he is Alive; Al-Maliki Advisor seems to, Too; 5 Killed, 22 Injured in Baghdad
Mark Kukis at Time reports on Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's insistence with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Iraq recover its sovereignty on all levels.The report is bolstered by this one on Iran's…
Memorial Day, 2008
Memorial Day is about honoring those who have sacrificed themselves for the nation, in our armed forces. We cannot honor them properly unless we know the full extent of their sacrifice. We…
Sistani Forbids Feeding Americans; Warns against Security Agreement; Hundreds of Sadrists Arrested
Fars News reproduces in Persian on May 24, 2008, another anti-American fatwa by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani of Najaf. It says that its correspondent in Najaf reports that an Iraqi Shiite submitted…Clinton Touches off National PTSD
Senator Clinton's reference to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in June of 1968 does not seem to me consequential, for all the brouhaha it has provoked. She was just saying that…6 Marines Injured, 1 Soldier Killed; Sistani Aide: Jihad Fatwa May Come; Karbala’i: Punish Blasphemous GI
Al-Sharq al-Awsat writing in Arabic carries a follow-up article on the AP story regarding Sistani's oral rulings on the permissibility of attacking multinational troops in Iraq. The article seems to me to…Will Sistani Declare Jihad on US?
Hamza Hendawi and Qassim Abdul Zahra of AP get the scoop: Their sources in Najaf tell them that young Shiite men belonging to the "Troops of the Ayatollahs" (Jund al-Marja`iyyah) militia that…
Hagee Anti-Semitism and Endorsement of McCain
John McCain actively sought and accepted the endorsement of pastor John Hagee.Breaking News: CNN is reporting that McCain has just repudiated Hagee, specifically over these remarks on Hitler as God-sent hunter of…Cole on Newshour
The Newshour with Jim Lehrer will be doing an Iraq segment this evening on the Public Broadcasting Service, and I will be one of the commentators.Assassinations of High Officials; 36 Killed, Wounded in Baghdad; Iraqiya Rebuffs al-Maliki
Signs that things weren't that calm in Baghdad on Wednesday: Guerrillas assassinated Colonel Abdul Kareem Muhsin, the director of the protection department in the ministry of transportation, in East Baghdad. An attempted…Appeasement Breaks out Everywhere
After all that trouble George W. Bush caused with his foolish speech before the Israeli Knesset condemning negotiation with bad guys, it turns out that no one in the Middle East, including…Poll: Americans Want their Iraq News
The Zogby news release, below, about a new poll demonstrates that Informed Comment is giving the American people what they want in the way of Iraq news: "When asked about the news…Reuters/Zogby: Obama Opens up 10 Point Lead on McCain
Zogby Polling has permitted the reprinting of the below. What I take away from it is that in a four-way race Nader would hurt Clinton more than he would hurt Obama, and…American Idol and American Politics
I find it a little eerie how closely the finale of the television program American Idol resembles the presidential race.Here you have an older male from the school of hard knocks; a…4 Awakening Council Members Killed; Iraqi Army enters Sadr City; Provincial election Date provokes Row
The Iraqi Army moved into part of Sadr City without meeting resistance on Tuesday, according to McClatchy.Raheem Salman of LAT blogs the scene in Sadr City.Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that Iraqi security…Kennedy Diagnosed with Brain Tumor
Best wishes to Ted Kennedy and his family in the aftermath of his diagnosis with brain cancer. Analysts are pointing out that the Democrats need Kennedy more than ever, as a party…11 Police Killed in North; Police Chief Killed Near Nasiriya; IIP Demands Written Apology over Qur’an
Sunni Arab guerrillas attacked a bus in northern Iraq on Monday, killing 11 persons, the policemen aboard and their driver. The attack may have been in response to the Iraqi government campaign…Flashback: Bush’s 2000 Speech
Flashback: Bush's 2000 Republican Convention speech in retrospect:Sadrists: Iraqi Military Breaking Ceasefire
The USG Open Source Center translates a transcript of al-Sharqiya Television interview with Sadr Movement official Salah al-Obeidi in which he charges that the Iraqi and US militairies have violated the recent…McCain on YouTube
Robert Greenwald presents McCain clips, entertainingly.US Soldier Killed in Iraq; Qur’an Desecrated; Maliki Said to Replace Division Commander
The LA Times reports:' A U.S. soldier was killed Sunday and another injured when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Salahuddin province, the military said. At least 4,078 U.S.…Sunday Blogivision; McCain calls for Negotiations with Hamas
Some telling video clips for a lazy Sunday:Via Josh Marshall's TPM Veracifier: John McCain says the US will have to negotiate with Hamas at some point, since they are the government. (They…Fallujah Bombing Kills 4 Police; Al-Maliki offers Amnesty; Honor Killings of Iraqi Women Rise
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki offered an amnesty in Mosul to those guerrillas who lay down their arms and accept money from him.Also, a bombing in Fallujah killed 4 policeman and wounded 9…McCain Unit Rolled out; Funeral Bombing Toll Rises to 25; Baghdad Governor’s Convoy Blown Up;
VOA reports that on May 15, 'Clashes in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad's Sadr City district have left at least seven people dead, despite a deal aimed at ending the bloodshed. Iraqi officials…Is Obama the Apostate, or is Bush? A Reply to Luttwak
I've been traveling again and so only just saw Edward Luttwak's ridiculous column about Barack Obama being considered an "apostate" in the Muslim world. It is just so discouraging that such an…
Cole & the BBC Doha Debates
As I was setting off for some conferences in the UK last April, I got an invitation from Tim Sebastian to come participate in the Doha Debates on April 29. Sebastian for…Puzzle of Bombings in Jaipur
The bombings that shook Jaipur and killed 80 innocents are not immediately legible as ordinary politics. Most previous such bombings (Bombay, Hyderabad) have been in areas that have important Muslim minorities, or…11 Killed, 20 Wounded in Sadr City;
No sooner had the truce between the Mahdi Army and the US & Iraqi military been signed than it appeared to break down. Clashes broke out Monday night into Tuesday morning between…Dangers facing the World
As if Iraq was not enough to worry about, some important political developments in Lebanon, and even in the Yemen have raised the temperature of the Middle East . . .A roadside…Cole in Salon: Obama and Clinton on Aljazeera
My column, "Clinton and Obama on Aljazeera," is just out in Salon.com.It is based in part on an interview I did with the editor-in-chief of Aljazeera during my recent trip to Qatar.…Mosul Offensive Catches Residents Off Guard; Turks Bomb N. Iraq; New Bloc in Parliament?
The Mosul operation came so unexpectedly for residents of the major northern city that they did not have time to stock up on food. Alexandra Zavis interviews Mosulis who say that they…Maliki-Sadr Agreement on Sadr City; Al-Maliki Heads to Mosul
The al-Maliki government and the Sadrists pulled back from the brink in Sadr City on Saturday. PM Nuri al-Maliki had demanded that the Mahdi Army militia that serves as the Sadrist paramilitary…Sadrists Denounce Sistani and al-Maliki
AFP reports that on Friday an aide to junior cleric Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr lashed out at Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani over his silence at the attacks on Sadr City (a Shiite slum)…OSC: Lebanon — Both Sides Take Tough Line, Leave Room To Maneuver
The USG Open Source Center analyzes the Lebanese press on the crisis between the Seniora government and Hizbullah, suggesting that despite their harsh words, they have left wiggle room for a resolution.OSC…Beirut Ramping Up
Irina Prentice writes from Beirut:Beirut Ramping Up Yesterday afternoon the political fight came to a head, turning to armed conflict throughout key neighborhoods in Beirut. Loud explosions, automatic machine gun fire, rocket…Lebanon takes 2 Steps toward Civil War; Beirut in Chaos
On late Friday, the Lebanese army moved into some neighborhoods that had been taken during the day by the Hizbullah militia. Hizbullah routed Sunni militiamen loyal to Saad Hariri and set fire…Sadr City Residents Warned to Leave;
AFP reports, "25 killed as Rockets Shatter Basra Calm." Shiite guerrillas fired a barrage of rockets at the British base out at the airport in Basra, killing two civilians. There was retaliatory…Sick Guest Op-Ed: More on Hillary Clinton and Obliterating Iran
Gary Sick, a political scientist at Columbia University and former National Security Council staffer under Carter and Reagan, writes:Hillary Clinton's warning that the United States could "obliterate" Iran if that country should…Happy 60th to Israel
Israel is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and let me take this opportunity to wish my Israeli readers a happy anniversary. The Middle East is always viewed through the lens of politics and…