juan-cole

Juan Cole

Critique of US Policy in Iraq Bush Administration policies in Iraq have largely been a failure. It has created a failed state in that country, which is in flames and seething with new religious and ethnic nationalist passions of a sort never before seen on this scale in modern Iraqi history. The severe instability in […]

Maliki Calls for Most Coalition Troops out by End of Year Well, there are two versions of Iraq’s future. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suprised visiting UK PM Tony Blair with an announcement: “Mr Maliki said British troops would hand over responsibility in two provinces to Iraqi security forces by next month and that he expected […]

The Black Psy-Ops Campaign against Iran The Iranian regime is despicable in its lack of respect for basic human rights and in its regimentation of its citizens into a rigid theocracy. But it is no more of a threat to the United States than Burma or the Congo, both of which are just as oppressive. […]

Responses to Critics: Open Thread I don’t want to give the impression that I am unduly interested in the cottage industry that has grown up on the US Right of, let us say, severely critiquing my work. It comes with the territory that if you become a public figure, you get attacked. In fact, even […]

DaVinci Code as Parable of American Modernity Despite the scowls and titters of the critics, the DaVinci Code did $77 million at the box office in the US, better than Tom Cruise pulled in MI3. And the world-wide gross is already $224 million. What in the world accounts for the popularity of this complicated and […]

50 Dead Maliki Vows to End Militias, Graft The civil war in Iraq killed 50 persons on Sunday, according to al-Zaman. Reuters managed to detail the circumstances of 35 of them, including bombings in Baghdad. Al-Sharq al-Awsat says [Ar.] that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called militias “an abnormal phenomenon” and vowed to end it. He […]

Wikipedia Article Hijacked I fear I have never had the time to get up to full speed with regard to the Wiki world or the procedures of Wikipedia. But I am told by a kind reader that a small group of ideologues has taken over the Wikipedia article on me in a way that is […]

CanWest and the Lobby A kind reader alerted me to this item about the present owners of the National Post that tried to float the black psy-ops operation charging Iran with requiring religious minorities to wear “badges”. This item is from before they owned the National Post, but there is no reason to think their […]

Libyan Blogger on US Relations with Tripoli A Libyan-American blogger on the US establishment of diplomatic relations with the Qaddafi regime.