Month

Archives: April 2008

2 US Troops Killed, 21 Wounded; 37 Iraqis Killed in Baghdad Clashes;

According to BBC television, AFP is reporting that Mahdi Army militiamen killed 2 US troops in northern Baghdad on Wednesday morning. US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates admitted on Tuesday that…

Mortar, Rocket attacks in Baghdad; in aftermath of Militia Campaign

Baghdad has been roiled for the past three days with major fighting between Iraqi government/ US forces and the Mahdi Army militia in east and north Baghdad, leaving 45 militiamen dead and…

Sadr Rejects al-Maliki’s Terms; Green Zone hit by Mortar Barrage; Turkish Military Strikes at PKK

Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday rejected Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's terms for ending his campaign against Sadr's Mahdi Army. Al-Maliki wants the militia to give up heavy weaponry and turn over wanted commanders.…

Moyers and Wright at PBS, Parts 3-4

The other two parts of Bill Moyers' interview with Reverend Wright are below.Journalism should be about explaining things and setting them in context, not about 'gotcha' moments. As the Web becomes better…

Karzai Attacked in Kabul

Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped unharmed from a guerrilla assassination attempt on Sunday.US politicians who keep saying that Afghanistan is the good war would be well advised to consider whether the mission…

More on Syrian Reactor Bombing; From an Informed Reader

An informed reader writes:What little information provided in the CIA videotape concerning the destruction of the purported Syrian reactor only provokes more questions.The alleged reactor is described, because of its dimensions and…

Reverend Wright on Bill Moyers

Reverend Wright on Bill Moyers:Part I:Part II:Parts III and IV to come.

A Million Palestinians Threatened with Starvation by Israel

The Israelis already have the Gaza Strip under military siege, carefully controlling what and who goes in and out of it. They have now cut off most fuel, and the United Nations…

Mullen Rattles Sabres at Iran; Muqtada Reaffirms Truce

Another US soldier was killed on Thursday.Guerrillas blew up an oil pipeline from a refinery south of Baghdad on Friday. Iraqi oil production has declined somewhat lately, according to this report.Adm. Michael…

Syria Reactor Story a Diversion; But From What?

The US and Israel accused Syria on Thursday of building a secret nuclear reactor with North Korean help. There was a lot of innuendo in the press that the reactor was intended…

5 US Troops Killed; Turkey Bombs N. Iraq; Iran Backs al-Maliki against Mahdi Army

Five US troops were killed in Iraq on Tuesday.Turkey bombed northern Iraq again on Wednesday, claiming to hit at guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) "attempting to infiltrate Turkey from the…

Clinton Fails to Pull out Big Win; Brandishes Nukes at Iran; Israeli Spying on US for Nuclear Secrets

Hillary Clinton's win in Pennsylvania just was not big enough to allow her to hope to win the elected delegate count. She is increasingly using dark and exaggerated rhetoric and 2/3s of…

Zogby: Clinton 10 Points ahead in Pennsylvania

Zogby is reporting as follows, that there is a late surge for Clinton in Pennsylvania and that her margin is being given to her by white, ethnic, Catholic men. It also seems…

2 US Troops Killed, Others Wounded; Sadr City Fighting; Bombing, Kidnappings in Baquba

The LAT says that 2 US troops were killed in Salahuddin Province north of Baghdad (a largely Sunni Arab area). Also, a roadside bomb struck a US troop transport in Basra, producing…

Bush Team Pushed Torture behind Myers’ Back

The Guardian, basing itself on a soon-to-be-published book by Philippe Sands (Torture Team) reveals that torture was implemented at Guantanamo Bay in the face of opposition from Chair of the Joint Chiefs…

Rice: Muqtada a Coward; Najaf Tense; Veterans Depressed, Unemployed

Ned Parker, Raheem Salman and Saad Fakhrildeen get the story in Najaf, the Shiite holy city south of Baghdad. The four grand ayatollahs, pillars of middle and upper class Shiite orthodoxy, are…

Muqtada threatens Open Warfare; Islamic State in Iraq launches One-Month Campaign; Help! They told me on Television Iraq Was Calm Now

Meanwhile, a lot of open warfare is being threatened in Iraq. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is said to have threatened open warfare with the al-Maliki government if it does not cleanse "militias"…

McCain, the Retired Military "Analysts" and the Myth of al-Qaeda in Iraq

I am quoted in this NYT piece today on John McCain's allegations that the US is fighting "al-Qaeda" in Iraq and that there is a danger of "al-Qaeda" taking over the country…

Palestinian Children

Call me suspicious. Bound bodies found floating in a lake just don't seem to me very likely to be the victims of suicide. Riad's friend writes:' A friend of mine, Austin middle-school…

132 Wounded in Sadr City; The $3 Trillion Shopping Spree

The spring dust storms in Baghdad have given cover to renewed guerrilla fighting there. On Thursday Iraqi guerrillas used the cover of the dust storms to bombard the Green Zone with mortar…

60 Killed in Diyala Bombing; NDU Study: Iraq War Debacle; Netanyahu: 9/11 benefitted Israel

A suicide bombing at a funeral for pro-American militiamen in a village northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province killed at least 60 persons on Thursday and wounded a similar number. This attack…

Pope: Iraq War "has no moral justification"; Says Decision Should have been Made by UN

Here is what Pope Benedict really thinks of Bush and his Iraq War: Is the war that has been announced against Iraq a just war? “All I can do is invite you…

Sunni-Shiite Divide in Baghdad Worsens

Aljazeera English reports on the increased Sunni-Shiite divide in Baghdad. The video of blast walls and closed bridges is worth the price of admission. My only puzzlement is why they did not…

Islamic Radicals Announce Accord with Sunni Tribes

The USG Open Source Center translates a speech by Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, the putative leader of the radical Islamic State of Iraq, which has committed many bombings in the center-north of the…

Bombs, Violence Kill 60 in Northern Iraq

The massive violence in Iraq on Tuesday underlines that in the north, the US is mainly fighting Sunni Iraqis, some of them neo-Baathists. It is a misnomer to call the resistance "al-Qaeda,"…

28 Killed in Wave of Violence; Sadr Demands Reinstatement of Sacked Troops

AFP reports:' A surge of violence killed 28 people in the past 24 hours in Iraq, among them 12 members of the Kurdish peshmerga forces who died in a bomb blast near…

Bhasin Guest Editorial: Bilal Hussein and Freedom in Iraq

Fantasizing Democratic Freedoms in Iraq Madhavi BhasinAssociated Press (AP) photographer Bilal Hussein has been held for two year on being suspected of helping Iraqi insurgents, but without being formally charged by the…

Allam: Chalabi in Sadr City

The intrepid Hannah Allam of the McClatchy news service has more on the visit of Ahmad Chalabi to Sadr City to present his condolences to the slain Sadrist aide Nuri al-Riyadh, killed…

Iraqi Government Fires 1300 Troops; Muqtada Pledges Defiance of US

The Iraqi government has discharged 1300 officers, troops and policemen who declined to fight the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr in late March. Most of them had been in Basra and Kut.…

Iran Supported al-Maliki against Militias: OSC; Is the Baker Plan Back? Did Iran Expel Muqtada?

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney initially rejected the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group report, which advised that Iraq could not be solved militarily and that regional diplomacy and engagement would be necessary.…

Najaf under Curfew; As Sadr Brother-in-Law Killed; 13 Killed in Baghdad Clashes

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the Shiite holy city of Najaf is under a strict curfew after a drive by shooting that killed Riyad al-Nuri, the head of the Sadr office in…

Bush Abdicates to Generals on Iraq; 10 Killed in Sadr City; Al-Maliki Excludes Sadrists

War turns Republics into dictatorships. The logic is actually quite simple. The Constitution says that the Congress is responsible for declaring war. But in 2002 Congress turned that responsibility over to Bush,…

Curfews, Clashes, Protests and Mortars; Five Years after Fall of Saddam; 5 US Troops Die; 23 Iraqis Wounded in Sadr City

April 9, yesterday, marked the fifth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein. But for many Iraqis, it was more notable for marking the beginning of a long-term American military occupation of…

Petraeus, Iraq and the Lebanon Analogy

Gen. Petraeus is clearly convinced that Iraq needs US troops to shore up the government and security. He has done the most responsible job yet seen by an American official in Iraq…

Sadr Calls off Demonstration; Threatens to End Cease-Fire; McCain confuses al-Qaeda with Shiites (Again)

Iraq Hearing follies. John McCain just can't keep the branches of Islam straight. He said to Gen. David Petraeus:' SEN. MCCAIN: There are numerous threats to security in Iraq and the future…

4 US Troops Killed; Hundreds Flee Baghdad Clashes; Ayatollahs Decline to Ban Militia

I am always astounded at the combination of unrealistic optimism and foolish gullibility that marks political discourse on the Right in Washington. We were being told by Rich Lowry at the National…

5 US Troops Die in Iraq; Heavy Fighting in Sadr City Kills 22, Wounds 78; Blockade Threatens Humanitarian Crisis

The US military attacked the Mahdi Army militia in Sadr City on Sunday, alongside Iraqi Army troops. The fighting left 22 dead and 78 wounded, at least. It was not clear what…

McCain: Iraqi Troops Performed ‘Pretty Well’ at Basra; Engelhardt: Not so Much

Senator John McCain on the failed Basra campaign:' Republican presidential hopeful John McCain said Sunday that Iraq's military performed "pretty well" in its recent Basra assault despite the "mixed" results of the…

Rich, McCain, and the Coming Heartbreak Ridge

Frank Rich's "Tet Happened . . . and No One Cared" is an elegantly written and argued examination of the current situation in Iraq that seems to me to pretty much nail…

Al-Maliki: Militias must Disarm; 25,000 Tribesmen Join Iraqi Army in Basra; Seek to Fight Sadrist Tribes

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the Iraqi National Security Council met on Saturday. The heads of the major blocks in parliament attended, including Nassar al-Rubaie, leader of the Sadr bloc.Ali al-Adib of…

Al-Maliki Freezes anti-Militia Operations; Al-Sadr Calls Million Man March

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suddenly reversed himself on Friday, pledging a freeze on attacks on militias. Just a day before he had been saying that he would send the Iraqi military in…

Clashes Continue in Basra: Badr Militia Strengthened

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that clashes continued to be fought in Basra on Thursday between Iraqi government troops and the Mahdi Army militia.It also says that US troops in civilian clothing were…

Army Invades Sadrist District in Basra; Violence Kills more than a Score

The Iraqi military made incursions into Sadrist neighborhoods in Basra on Wednesday, AP says. The show of force provoked fears of an outbreak of fresh fighting. It turns out that McCain had…

Badr Inducted into Army as Thousands fired for Mutiny;

Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday honored the militias of the parties in the United Iraqi Alliance, i.e. the Da'wa (Islamic Call) Party and the Islamic Supreme…

Arjomand: Shariah Should be Voluntary; Muslims want Constitutional Rule of Law

Said Arjomand shared with IC this letter to the editor of the New York Times, which was not printed. It concerns Noah Feldman's mid-March NYT piece, "Why Shariah?" In the spirit of…

McCain: ‘Surprised’; Fighting Subsides in Baghdad, Basra; Analysts: Sadr Strengthened

My column, "Why al-Maliki Attacked Basra," is now available at Salon.comJohn McCain said he was surprised that Nuri al-Maliki would abruptly launch an operation against Basra. It seems to me that there…

al-A`raji: Arbitrary Arrests Continue (OSC)

The USG Open Source Center translates a discussion by Iraqis about Muqtada al-Sadr's ceasefire with the government of PM Nuri al-Maliki, carried in Arabic on the Iranian al-Alam satellite channel.'Iran: Al-Alam TV's…