Monthly Archives: August 2007

Rubin on Hostage Release, Drug Policy in Afghanistan

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Juan

Here’s some light reading for your Labor Day weekend. Afghanistan is pretty clearly becoming a problem for the US diplomatically and militarily of a major sort that would be front page news if it weren’t for the even more deadly … Continue reading →

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Arguments over Night of the Living Dead in Iraq

Posted on August 31, 2007 by Juan

A Government Accounting Office report has found that the Iraqi government has not met 13 of 18 benchmarks set by the US Congress. The report was leaked before it could be doctored by the Bush administration, which promptly denounced it … Continue reading →

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The Nation: Corruption the Norm in Iraqi Gov’t USG Reports Al-Maliki has Impeded investigations

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Juan

The Nation has gotten hold of a secret USG report that says that profound corruption is the norm in the Iraqi government. The intrepid David Corn writes: ‘ according to the working draft of a secret document prepared by the … Continue reading →

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Cheney & Iran: Here We Go Again?

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Juan

Barnett Rubin relays a message from a well-connected friend in Washington on the Cheney Administration’s plans to roll out a military confrontation with Iran in September. He writes at the Global Affairs blog: ” My friend had spoken to someone … Continue reading →

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Sistani Aides Held by JAM Muqtada freezes Paramilitary for 6 months

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Juan

Two senior aides to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani–Abdul Mahdi al-Karbala’i and Ahmad al-Safi– were kidnapped on Tuesday by the Mahdi Army and are still being held as captives, according to the Kuwaiti News Organization. This report seems to confirm that … Continue reading →

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Akhavi on Neocolonialism

Posted on August 30, 2007 by Juan

Khody Akhavi at IPS covers my talk last Friday at the New America Foundation, on my book, Napoleon’s Egypt: Invading the Middle East. He writes: ‘In Cole’s view, the Bush administration’s rhetoric of “liberating Iraq” from the clutches of a … Continue reading →

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Shiite Militia Clashes at Karbala Killl 52, Wound 206 Mahdi Army Rampage against SIIC offices in Baghdad

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Juan

Clashes between rival militias in the Shiite holy city of Karbala left some 52 dead and 206 wounded on Tuesday, according to late reports from Iraqi security officials. About a million Shiite pilgrims had converged on the city to commemorate … Continue reading →

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Bush, Ahmadinejad Trade Barbs Iranian Delegates Arrested, Released by US

Posted on August 29, 2007 by Juan

First Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was read to step into the vacuum when the US was forced out of Iraq. He oddly said that Iran’s friends, including Saudi Arabia, would help in this task. The hyper-Sunni Saudi … Continue reading →

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Cole in Salon: The War on al-Maliki

Posted on August 28, 2007 by Juan

My Salon column for Wednesday is now available: “The war against Iraq’s prime minister:” Sens. Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin are calling for Nouri al-Maliki’s ouster as a way of attacking Bush’s Iraq policy. But do they understand the consequences?” … Continue reading →

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Rubin: Proposal on Narcotics in Afghanistan

Posted on August 28, 2007 by Juan

Barnett Rubin has just posted another entry in his brilliant series on counter-narcotics in Afghanistan. Print

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