Archives: June 2004

New Improved Iraq My Essay About So

The New Improved Iraq My essay about the so-called transfer of sovereignty in Iraq is now available online at In These Times. An excerpt: The so-called transition to sovereignty for Iraq set…

Rashid Khalidis Talk At Ucla

Rashid Khalidi's talk at UCLA, "Government Attacks on Area Specialists Called Disservice to U.S. Middle East Policy," is absolutely essential reading. Khalidi covers the group-think at the Pentagon, the exclusion and intimidation…

3 Us Marines Killed 2 Injured 2 Police

3 US Marines Killed, 2 Injured; 2 Police Officers Killed in Continued Iraq Violence on Tuesday The Associated Press reports: Guerrillas killed three U.S. Marines and wounded two others with a roadside…

Us Soldier Kept Hostage By Guerrillas

US Soldier Kept Hostage by Guerrillas is Killed The killing of Spc. Keith Matthew Maupin by guerrillas in Iraq marks the potential beginning of a new tactic in the Iraq war. For…

Bremer Flees Iraq Two Days Early Paul

Bremer Flees Iraq Two Days Early Paul Bremer suddenly left Iraq on Monday, having "transferred sovereignty" to the caretaker Iraqi government two days early. It is hard to interpret this move as…

Fallujah Nir Rosens Brave And

Fallujah Nir Rosen's brave and essential reporting from Fallujah in the New Yorker is a must read. A taste: ' A young boy from Najaf wearing a pressed white shirt tucked neatly…

10 Killed In Iraq Including Us Soldier

10 Killed in Iraq, including a US Soldier; One Marine Held Hostage A US Marine was taken hostage in Iraq on June 21, and the group that kidnapped him is now threatening…

Fahrenheit 911 I Saw Michael Moores

Fahrenheit 9/11 I saw Michael Moore's new film in Ann Arbor at the midnight show last Thursday, thinking I might say something about it over the weekend. But social commitments of a…

2 Billion Unaccounted For In Cpa

$2 Billion Unaccounted for In CPA Handling of Iraq Finances The BBC reports that of nearly $20 billion in Iraqi money that the Coalition Provisional Authority had authority over during the past…

Iraq Haunts Bush In Istanbul Nabil Al

Iraq Haunts Bush in Istanbul Nabil al-Tikriti, who teaches history part-time at Loyola University New Orleans, writes Sunday from Istanbul: ' Hello: There are 15 million people in Istanbul who [are extremely…

Clarke Invasion Of Iraq Enormous

Clarke: Invasion of Iraq an Enormous Mistake In a speech in Orlando, former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke said, according to AP: ' The invasion of Iraq was an ''enormous mistake''…

Attacks Target Party Offices In Iraq_27

Attacks Target Party Offices in Iraq Al-Hayat: Guerrilla attacks on Saturday concentrated on party offices of parties allied with the United States. Gunmen attacked the HQ of the Supreme Council for Islamic…

Should Cheney Be Fined 275000 Vice

Should Cheney be Fined $275,000? Vice President Dick Cheney shouted "go fuck yourself!" at inoffensive Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, at a photo opportunity on the Senate floor earlier this week.…

Us Kills 20 In Fallujah Bombing

US Kills 20 in Fallujah Bombing Muqtada condemns Thursday's Terrorism The US air force bombed Fallujah again on Friday, hitting a safehouse of the al-Tawhid and al-Jihad organization of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi…

Jack Ryan Withdraws From Race Illinois

Jack Ryan Withdraws from Race Illinois Senate candidate Jack Ryan withdrew from the race on Friday. It had become increasingly clear to him that the allegations he pressured his then wife, actress…

Jaafari Iraqis Must Be In Control

Jaafari: Iraqis Must be in Control Emergency Laws a Possibility Interim Vice President of Iraq, Ibrahim Jaafari, said Friday that emergency laws might be implemented if the security situation demanded it. Jaafari…

107 Killed Including 3 Us Soldiers 321

107 Killed, Including 3 US Soldiers: 321 Hurt in 6 Iraqi Cities Edmund Sanders of the LA Times and AP report that within a six-hour period, guerrillas launched bombings, ambushes and small…

Iraq Allawi Threatened Attacks At

Iraq Allawi Threatened; Attacks at Ramadi Sadr Refuses to Attend National Congress Guerrillas targeted police stations all around Iraq on Wednesday and early Thursday, killing and wounding tens of Iraqis. Jordanian terrorist…

Religion And Ethics 7 Of 9 And Paris

Religion and Ethics 7 of 9 and the Paris Orgy Science fiction is in the real-world news big time these days. The actress Jeri Ryan, former wife (1990-1998) of currently embattled Republican…

2 Us Troops Killed Airstrike On

2 US Troops Killed; Airstrike on Fallujah; Korean Hostage Killed The Associated Press reports that guerrillas attacked a US military convoy near Balad north of Baghdad, killing two US troops and wounding…

British Sailors Held By Iran Scotsman

British Sailors Held by Iran The Scotsman reports "Foreign Office fury" at Iran's capture of 8 British sailors when they strayed over to the Iranian side of the Shatt al-Arab. The Shatt…

Us Has Lost War For Hearts And Minds

US Has Lost War for Hearts and Minds in Iraq Guy Dinmore and Alex Barker of the Financial Times report that some military analysts believe that the US has lost the wider…

Neocons Cant Spell Reader Asked Me To

Neocons can't Spell A reader asked me to comment on the controversy over whether an Iraqi intelligence agent was detailed to al-Qaeda in Kuala Lumpur to be the guy that picked people…

6 Us Servicemen Reported Dead In Iraq

6 US Servicemen Reported Dead in Iraq, 11 Iraqis Monday's toll (still incomplete but more complete than any one article I saw in any one language): Guerrillas sent a videotape to Associated…

Iraq War Not Worth It 52 Of Americans

Iraq War not Worth it: 52% of Americans A new Washington Post/ABC poll shows that a majority of Americans now feels that the Iraq War was not worth it. It cost too…

Najaf Calming Police To Be Trained In

Najaf Calming; Police to be Trained in Urban Warfare Al-Hayat reports that previous disputes between Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani and junior cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have now been completely resolved. One last step…

Us Marine Killed 23 Iraqis Killed In

US Marine Killed; 23 Iraqis Killed in Separate Attacks; US Helicopters mistakenly Kill 5 Policemen at Samarra' Wire services report several violent incidents on Sunday. Anbar province: Guerrillas fighting US troops in…

National Congress Planned Muqtada

National Congress Planned; Muqtada Invited Chalabi mediates with Kurds Al-Hayat: On Sunday, the preparatory board met to begin planning a national congress of 1000 notables, politicians, religious leaders and tribal sheikhs to…

Thousands Of Indian Shiites Protest Us

Thousands of Indian Shiites Protest US Policies in Iraq Thousands of Indian Shiites came out into the streets of New Delhi Sunday to protest harsh US policies in Iraq and to demand…

Controversy At Uc Irvine Over Muslim

Controversy at UC Irvine over Muslim Witness to Faith The Orange County Register reports a controversy over graduation ceremonies at the University of California Irvine, where 11 Muslim students had been planning…

3 Wounded By Bomb At Central Bank 22_20

3 Wounded by Bomb at Central Bank; 22 Guerrillas Die in Fallujah Bombing Guerrillas detonated a bomb outside Iraq's central bank in Baghdad on Sunday, wounding 2 employees and a guard. Guerrillas…

Pepe Escobars Interview With Me On

Pepe Escobar's interview with me on Iraq at the Asia Times is available online. An excerpt: ATol: Let's start with the credibility of the Iraqi caretaker government vis-a-vis the Sunnis, Shi'ites and…

One Us Soldier Killed 3 Injured Along

One US Soldier Killed, 3 Injured along with Contractor AP reports that guerrillas set off a roadide bomb in the Kamalaya district of Baghdad, after which snipers on rooftops fired at US…

Destruction Of Key Bridge Halts

Destruction of Key Bridge Halts Southern Rails Muqtada Aide Declares East Baghdad an American no-go Zone Ash-Sharq al-Awsat: Guerillas blew up a key bridge just south of Baghdad Friday, halting rail traffic…

Iraqi Impotence In Every Sense Viagra

Iraqi Impotence in Every Sense Viagra importation and use is way up in Iraq. Pharmacists say that the violence and tension has reduced Iraqi libido, so more men need help to get…

42 Killed 138 Wounded In 3 Thursday

42 Killed, 138 Wounded in 3 Thursday Bombings Coalition Soldier Among Dead The LA Times reports that guerrillas detonated two enormous bombs in Iraq on Thursday. A suicide bomber blew up an…

Bush And Cheney Stick With Cover Story

Bush and Cheney Stick with the Cover Story On Thursday both President Bush and Vice President Cheney stuck with their assertions of a close tie between Saddam Hussein and Usamah Bin Laden.…

Prince Of Marshes In Legal Trouble La

Prince of the Marshes in Legal Trouble The LA Times has picked up a story that had already hit the London press two weeks ago, having to do with Abdul Karim Mahoud…

2 Us Troops Oil Official Killed 21

2 US Troops, Oil Official killed; 21 Wounded in Rocket Attack Reuters reports a string of attacks and mayhem yet again on Wednesday, with the petroleum industry a special target. Guerrillas attacked…

Muqtada Asks Militiamen To Leave Najaf

Muqtada Asks Militiamen to Leave Najaf Creates Party for January Elections Az-Zaman: Muqtada al-Sadr asked his supporters who had headed to Najaf to fight the Americans to now leave the city and…

Someone Tell Cheney 911 Commission

Someone Tell Cheney The 9/11 commission says that there was no link between Iraq and September 11. Duh. But someone tell Dick Cheney, please. He apparently doesn't read the newspapers, either. Anyone…

Iraqs Oil Exports Nixed By Basra

Iraq's Oil Exports Nixed by Basra Sabotage US Commits $2 billion of Past Iraq Oil Revenues The Financial Times reports that Iraqi Petroleum Minister Thamir Ghadban has confirmed that saboteurs twice bombed…

John Kerry For President

John Kerry for President

Poll 55 Of Iraqis Would Feel Safer

Poll: 55% of Iraqis Would feel Safer without US Troops 67% Support Muqtada al-Sadr Associated Press reports a Coalition Provisional Authority poll of Iraqis taken in the middle of May that had…

21 Killed 62 Injured Three Big Bombs

21 Killed, 62 Injured Three big bombs went off in Iraq on Monday. One, in Baghdad, targeted foreign civilian contractors. The 13 dead from that bombing included 1 from the US, 2…

Bushs European Allies Punished By

Bush's European Allies Punished by their Publics J. Sean Curtin argues that Bush's European allies have paid a heavy political price for supporting his Iraq war. Labor did extremely poorly in the…

Marines Visit Fallujah Cut Deal Az

Marines Visit Fallujah, Cut Deal Az-Zaman: US Marines went into Fallujah on Monday, meeting with General Muhammad Latif, commander of the Fallujah Brigade, and the head of the local governing council, Saadu'llah…

Sistani To Consult With Kurds Us Seeks

Sistani to Consult with Kurds US Seeks Direct talks with Muqtada Az-Zaman: Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani has decided to send a representative to Kurdistan to discuss the differences between him and the…

Debt And Dollars In Iraq Guest

Debt and Dollars in Iraq Guest Editorial David Chambers Middle East Institute Thursday's BBC story entitled "Iraqi debt write-off divides G8" hovers over the heart of many inter-related problems concerning Iraq. The…

Iranian Influence In Iraq Robin Wright

Iranian Influence in Iraq Robin Wright of the Washington Post discusses the ways that US officials view Iran as seeking influence in Iraq. Her contacts confirm what I have also long suspected,…

Ebadi Us War In Iraq Set Back Iran

Ebadi: US War in Iraq set back Iran Human rights Barbara Slavin of USA Today profiles Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel prize winner for peace from Iran. Ebadi complains that the US war…

Powers Internal War Between Cia And

Powers: Internal War between CIA and Pentagon as bad as External Wars Mark Follman at Salon.com profiles Thomas Powers, author of "Intelligence Wars: American Secret History From Hitler to Al Qaeda." Powers…

Dr

Dr. Frank: The Cure for Bush's Neuroses: Get him Out of Office Psychiatrist Dr. Justin Frank puts George W. Bush on the couch and comes up with disturbing findings. The findings: 1.…

More On Us Refusal To Hold Local

More on US Refusal to hold Local Elections Many thanks to readers for the great interest they showed in so serious a subject as the consequences of the refusal of the Coalition…

Wave Of Assassinations Continues

Wave of Assassinations Continues Sunday Car Bomb at Military Academy kills 12, wounds 13 Guerrillas used a car bomb Sunday to target an Iraqi military academy in southeast Baghdad. There are many…

California And Florida Polls And

California and Florida: Polls and Demographics work against Bush Has W. morphed from Neo to Smith? Ron Fournier of the Associated Press has a fascinating article on the changes in Florida's political…

Riot At Imam Ali Shrine Clashes In

Riot at Imam Ali Shrine; Clashes in Sadr City al-Hayat and ash-Sharq al-Awsat: Sadr City: A Sadrist spokesman said late Friday that one Mahdi Army militiaman was killed and several others were…

Samarrai Calls For Military Resistance

Samarra'i calls for Military Resistance Sunni preacher Shaikh Ahmad al-Samarra'i accused Prime Minister Iyad Allawi of being an American agent in his sermon on Friday. He addressed Allawi from the pulpit, saying,…

Iraqis Working For Us Live In Fear Afp

Iraqis working for the US Live in Fear AFP continues its excellent tradition of covering Iraq from the ground up(in this case the eastern city of Baqubah) with a fine piece about…

Did Prohibiting Local Elections Derail

Did Prohibiting Local Elections Derail Iraq? Professor Roger Myerson of the University of Chicago earlier authored a prescient paper, ,"How to Build Democracy in Iraq." He now writes: "In recent weeks, political…

Mahdi Army Takes Police Station In

Mahdi Army Takes Police Station in Najaf Fighting continued in Najaf on Thursday, though US troops stayed out of it and let the Najaf police chief handle the situation. The Mahdi Army…

Chirac Politely Takes On Bush Afp

Chirac Politely takes on Bush AFP reports that on a number of occasions French president Jacques Chirac exhibited independence from the Bush agenda. He wore a coat and tie at Sea Island,…

Violence In Iraq Insurgents Killed 12

Violence in Iraq Insurgents killed 12 Iraqi soldiers of the Fallujah Brigade in Fallujah on Wednesday. This is the first time that insurgents targeted the indigenous Iraqi brigade. It has now been…

Kurdish Anger Rising Update Although

Kurdish Anger Rising Update: Although the New York Times alleged Thursday morning that Prime Minister Iyad Allawi had tried to defuse the crisis with the Kurds by committing his government to the…

Political Obituary For Neocons Paul

Political Obituary for the Neocons Paul Richter of the Los Angeles Times has done another political obituary of the neoconservative movement, which has fallen on hard times. He notes that it is…

Torturegate Sources Wall Street

Torturegate Sources The Wall Street Journal story that set off the furor about White House counsels advising Bush that he could torture people if he wanted to (indeed, that he can do…

Torturegate G8 And Greater Middle East

Torturegate, G8, and the Greater Middle East The Wall Street Journal's revelation of White House counsels' memoranda permitting what most people would consider torture-- on the basis of the president's position as…

Un Resolution Passes Unanimously

UN Resolution Passes Unanimously Sistani the Big Winner; Kurds Furious The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a new resolution on Iraq granting legitimacy to the caretaker government of Iyad…

16 Killed 144 Wounded In Iraq Violence

16 Killed, 144 Wounded in Iraq Violence az-Zaman estimates that 16 persons died in bombings and attacks on Tuesday, and 144 were wounded. Among the dead was a US soldier in Baquba…

Muqtada Emerges Strengthened Allawi

Muqtada Emerges Strengthened; Allawi calls for Dialogue Tom Lasseter of Knight Ridder argues from anecdotal evidence in Iraq that Muqtada al-Sadr has emerged from his battle with the Americans stronger than ever,…

Black Humor Friend In Baghdad Sent Me

Black Humor A friend in Baghdad sent me this. It is to laugh, it is to weep. Why Did the Chicken cross the Road? Coalition Provisional Authority: The fact that the Iraqi…

Cole On Lehrer News Hour For Those Who

Cole on the Lehrer News Hour For those who like advanced warning, I will be on the Lehrer News Hour this evening discussion the new UN Resolution on Iraq.

Blast In Baquba Kills At Least 5

Blast in Baquba Kills at least 5, Wounds 11; US troops among the wounded A suspected car bomb detonated at the gates of a US military base near the eastern city of…

Bremer Bars Muqtada From Holding

Bremer Bars Muqtada from Holding Office The Guardian reports that US civil administrator Paul Bremer signed an order Monday banning Muqtada al-Sadr and his lieutenants from running for elective office for 3…

Un Security Council Vote Expected

UN Security Council Vote expected Tuesday; Sistani Weighs in Against Interim Constitution The final details of the UN Security Council resolution, on the caretaker government to which the Bush administration maintains it…

Kurds Threaten Boycott Distribution Of

Kurds Threaten Boycott The distribution of posts in the caretaker government disappointed the religious Shiites and the Kurds, both of whom felt stiffed. The Kurds only got one vice presidency and the…

Dissolution Of Militias Announced

Dissolution of Militias Announced Transitional PM Iyad Allawi announced Monday that nine militias would be dissolved. Their members would receive pensions or would be merged into the police or new Iraqi military.…

Bush In Italy Reader Writes From Italy

Bush in Italy A reader writes from Italy: "The Italian administration's scare tactics about the June 4 anti-Bush demonstrations reached the US media. All the world believed them. The center-left political leaders…

Iraqi Electoral Commission Announced

Iraqi Electoral Commission Announced Nathan J. Brown of George Washington University writes: "On 31 May, Bremer signed an order creating an Iraqi electoral commission. The order was not published until today, and…

28 Killed 88 Wounded In Iraq On Sunday

28 Killed, 88 Wounded in Iraq on Sunday Ash-Sharq al-Awsat estimates that bombings, drive-by shootings and other acts of guerrilla violence took 28 lives in Iraq on this weekend, and left more…

Iranian Hardliners And Iraq Informal

Iranian Hardliners and Iraq Informal Irainian volunteers have come forward in the thousands for suicide bombings against the Americans in Iraq. They say, however,that they await the command of Supreme Jrisprudent Ali…

Reagans Passing I Did Not Say Anything

Reagan's Passing I did not say anything yesterday about Ronald Reagan's death. The day a person dies he has a right to be left alone. But yesterday is now history, and Reagan's…

Sistani Meets Muqtada Ceasefire Taking

Sistani Meets Muqtada; Ceasefire Taking Hold Fighting continued Saturday in East Baghdad. A roadside bomb killed two US soldiers and wounded two others. Mahdi Army militiamen attacked a police station and the…

5 Us Troops Killed 5 Wounded New

5 US Troops Killed, 5 wounded New Accord in Najaf Five US troops were killed and five wounded on Friday while patrolling near East Baghdad (Sadr City) when their humvees were rocketed.…

Al Haeris Conditions Ash Sharq Al

Al-Haeri's Conditions ash-Sharq al-Awsat: Old-time al-Da`wa leader in exile, Ayatollah Kadhim al-Haeri, issued a statement Friday from Qom, Iran, on the caretaker government in Iraq. He said there were 6 things it…

Situation In Iraq Acutely Threatens

The situation in Iraq acutely threatens Israeli security From Friday's Daily Star By Juan Cole Friday, June 04, 2004 As the American public gradually wearies of the Iraq crisis, some have begun…

Iran Leader Slams Caretaker Government

Iran Leader Slams Caretaker Government in iraq Iran's supreme jurisprudent, Ali Khamenei, spoke out Thursday against the new Iraqi government, saying that it was filled with puppets of the Americans, who remained…

Iraq As Failed State Fund For Peace

Iraq as failed State The Fund for Peace has an important new study on Iraq that warns it has become a failed state. . Newsday says: ' Dr. Pauline H. Baker, author…

Clancy On Wolfowitz I Just Heard Tom

Clancy on Wolfowitz I just heard Tom Clancy on Deborah Norville's show. She asked him about some persons he had met in the Defense Department. When she brought up Paul Wolfowitz, and…

Sistanis Fatwa On New Government Fatwa

Sistani's Fatwa on the New Government Fatwa of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on the New Government trans. J. Cole "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. From the office of…

Tenet Resigns I Have No Inside Sources

Tenet Resigns I have no inside sources on why George Tenet just resigned as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. But I can think of three reasons for which he ought to…

Shiites Disgruntled With Caretaker

Shiites Disgruntled with Caretaker Government James Drummond reports for the Financial Times that al-Da`wa and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) have expressed dissatisfaction at how the caretaker government…

14 Dead In Iraq More Fighting Between

14 Dead in Iraq; More Fighting between Sadrists and US Troops; Between a huge car bomb in Adhamiyah in Baghdad (which killed 4 and wounded many others) and new clashes with US…

Chalabi Spy Case James Risen And David

Chalabi Spy Case James Risen and David Johnston have a story in the New York Times on Wednesday about the spying charges against Ahmad Chalabi. He is accused of passing to Iran…

Making Americans Safer Frankly Idiotic

Making Americans Safer The frankly idiotic US battles fought near Shiite shrines in Najaf and Karbala have created a new, seething rage toward the US in many Shiite Muslim communities throughout the…

New Proposal For Mahdi Army In Najaf

New Proposal for Mahdi Army in Najaf A new proposal has emerged for dealing with the stand-off in Najaf, whereby the US troops will withdraw from the city to their bases and…

Revised Text Of U

Revised text of U.N. draft resolution on Iraq proposed by United States and Britain (Via Associated Press): "The United States and Britain circulated the following revised draft U.N. resolution on Iraq to…

More On Ghazi Al Yawar Fro_108612255968768028

More on Ghazi al-Yawar From an informed Iraqi reader: I thought I'd tell you a little bit about Ghazi Al-Yawer's background. He's a very good guy, and highly educated by Shammar standards.…

Washingtonpost

Washingtonpost.com: Iraq: New Government Takes Over The Washington Post online kindly had me on for an online discussion of the developments in Iraq today. For those who've asked for advance notice, I'll…

New Iraqi Government Announced How

New Iraqi Government Announced How weak the Americans have become in Iraq became clear in Iraq on Tuesday when their choice for the ceremonial post of president of the transitional government had…

Ghazi Al Yawar On Iraqi Politics Here

Ghazi al-Yawar on Iraqi Politics Here are some documents on the new Iraqi president. Some flavor of the new president can be gathered from this recent FNS interview. ---- Federal News Service…

Maneuvering Over Transitional

Maneuvering over Transitional Government Continues Al-Hayat reports that Paul Bremer has put enormous pressure on the Interim Governing Council not to vote on its candidate for president, which might have had the…