March 31, 2007

Former Rumsfeld advisor: "Army is broken"

Maj.-Gen. (Retd.) Robert H. Scales is a former commander of the US Army War College-- and also, according to Col. Pat Lang, a former 'counsellor' to D. Rumsfeld. So we...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 01:57 PM | Fulltext link (22 comments)

March 29, 2007

The Arab world and Iraq: column & discussion

Here is my latest CSM column on the views that Arab analysts have of the situation in Iraq. (Also, here.) Sometimes, as on this occasion, I find writing in the...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:42 AM | Fulltext link (5 comments)

March 27, 2007

Electronic Iraq round-table on the 4th anniversary

Round table at Electronic Iraq on the fourth anniversary of the war. Yours truly participating....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 12:39 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

March 24, 2007

More on the four-year US occupation of Iraq

Commenter Bernard Chazelle suggested we watch this very moving short video from Guardian films. It's about some kids in an Iraqi orphanage. And there's a link there to this other...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 07:06 AM | Fulltext link (3 comments)

March 23, 2007

Faiza: The story of Husaam

Faiza al-Araji is a courageous, talented Iraqi civil engineer of about my age (mid-50s), also with three grown-up children. Hers are all male; two of mine are daughters. When I...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 01:35 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

GAO's Pogo Report on Unsecured Munitions In Iraq

GAO, meet POGO. Yesterday, the US Government Accounting Organization released an unclassified 35 page version of a study submitted to the Pentagon in December, with a long-winded title: "Operation Iraqi...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 10:12 AM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

March 21, 2007

Reidar Visser takes on US politicians' myths about Iraq

Our esteemed friend Reidar has a solidly argued new piece on his website that roundly criticizes some of the myths about Iraq being disseminated by US politicians-- primarily but not...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 12:03 PM | Fulltext link (35 comments)

March 19, 2007

Open power struggle over Iraqi 'High Court'

The Iraqi 'High Court'-- the special war-crimes court that was supposed Exhibit A in the US occupation forces' attempt to bring accountability and the rule of law to Iraq-- has...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 01:53 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

March 12, 2007

Reidar Visser on Basrawis and oil; other oil questions

Our esteemed friend Reidar Visser has another great writing now available on the question of the thorny relationship between the people of the Shiite-dominated 'Deep South' of Iraq and their...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:18 AM | Fulltext link (10 comments)

March 09, 2007

The US and Iran, in Iraq

One week ago today we were sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Amman, Jordan, talking with the very smart and well-informed Middle East analyst Joost Hiltermann about the...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:38 AM | Fulltext link (8 comments)

March 07, 2007

Fragments from Iraq

Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:40 AM | Fulltext link (19 comments)

February 28, 2007

Bushites forced to deal with Syria and Iran

It is excellent news that the Bushites have finally been forced-- by their own puppet government in Baghdad, no less-- to sit down at the same table with representatives of...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 05:25 AM | Fulltext link (26 comments)

February 27, 2007

Visser on Southern Iraq and oil

The well-informed southern Iraq scholar Reidar Visser has an important new piece of analysis here, titled Basra Crude: The Great Game of Iraq’s “Southern” Oil. He adds some very important...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:20 AM | Fulltext link (18 comments)

February 23, 2007

Iraq's Phoenix Rising Again?

(with thanks to Donald A. Weadon, Jr. for his comments - below)) Heeee's back. No, not Virgil Goode, (!) but Ahmad Chalabi. Friday's Wall Street Journal cover headline proclaims that...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 08:45 PM | Fulltext link (7 comments)

February 20, 2007

Riverbend's cry from the heart

The talented Iraqi woman blogger Riverbend has posted again today-- the first time since December 31. This post is an agonized reflection on an interview she saw on Al-Jazeera t.v....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:24 AM | Fulltext link (16 comments)

February 16, 2007

Virgil Goode: "In Mohammed We Trust?"

Heee's baaaack. No, not "Chuckie," that " sneering, mean-hearted, movie doll," nor "Q" from Star Trek fame. But our "Q-ran" fearing Congressman Virgil Goode. Goode has been the subject of...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 09:53 PM | Fulltext link (6 comments)

February 13, 2007

More on the possible pre-peace overture from the 1920 Revolution Brigades

A quick search of Juan Cole's blog revealed about 20 entries there to the 1920 Revolution Brigades, which is the way Juan (generally) renders the name of the Sunni insurgent...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 07:54 AM | Fulltext link (34 comments)

February 12, 2007

Iraqi insurgents signaling pre-negotiation readiness?

Robert Fisk had an article in Friday's Independent in which he presented the contents of what could be a very significant statement that was "passed to" him, that could represent...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 06:02 AM | Fulltext link (12 comments)

Odom: "Victory is Not an Option"

Preface (note - this is Scott writing). Lest any jwn readers think my satire of CNN's 3 General Stooges incorrectly reflects a general hostility towards all things military, I note...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 01:31 AM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

February 11, 2007

CNN's General cheerleader squad: Marx, Shepard, & Grange

Memo to John Stewart - host of the Comedy Channel's Daily Show: If you need new material, check out the media generals on CNN. Since at least 2003, CNN has...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 11:29 PM | Fulltext link (0 comments)

February 05, 2007

Ramazani: "Surging Backward"

We have featured several essays by R.K. Ramazani here before, and I am happy to draw attention to his latest pithy oped entitled, "Bush's 'new way leads backward." Ramazani, like...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 03:16 PM | Fulltext link (14 comments)

January 30, 2007

Was the Najaf fight more about tribes?

Zeyad of Healing Iraq compiles several different accounts of who the people were who got so bloodily killed in the shootout in Zarqaa/Najaf on Sunday and early Monday. One of...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:39 PM | Fulltext link (3 comments)

Guest op-ed from Stanley J. Heginbotham

Stanley Heginbotham is someone who thinks carefully and compassionately about issues of war and peace. I was interested to read some thoughts he's put together on the US-Iraqi imbroglio, and...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:40 PM | Fulltext link (23 comments)

January 29, 2007

Sadrist delegation in Kurdistan

Aswat al-Iraq/ Voices of Iraq is reporting that a delegation of four Sadrist MPs has traveled to Arbil to visit with Kurdish President Masoud Barzani. VOI's Abdul-Hamid Zibari writes there...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:06 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

Battles with (a new kind of) Mahdists near Najaf

Yesterday's fierce battles near Najaf saw the tumultuous emergence and apparent defeat of what most sources now agree was a fervent, well-armed group of some 300-plus supporters of Ahmad al-Hasan,...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:19 AM | Fulltext link (18 comments)

January 27, 2007

US-Iranian contest in Iraq, Part 2

When I wrote this post last night, I did not say anything as to whether I believed that Iranian or pro-Iranian agents were involved. That was by intention. I'm not...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:10 AM | Fulltext link (24 comments)

January 26, 2007

The deadly US-Iranian contest in Iraq

TheJanuary 20 raid on the joint US-Iraqi security "coordination" center in Karbala was even more operationally complex and sophisticated, and therefore worrying for the US commanders in Iraq, than I...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:20 PM | Fulltext link (9 comments)

Faiza on "Living in a state of waiting"

The latest English-language post that Faiza al-Araji has on her blog is extremely powerful. Earlier, I "Delicioused" it, to put it onto the sidebar here. But there are more things...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 09:22 PM | Fulltext link (3 comments)

January 25, 2007

Gen. McCaffrey speaks frankly to officers?

General Barry McCaffrey, a distinguished career Army officer who was Commander of the US Armed Forces' Southern Command from 1994 through 1996, and then Director of the Office of National...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:46 PM | Fulltext link (11 comments)

Negotiations succeeding to avoid Sadr City showdown?

In today's NYT Sabrina Tavernise has a really interesting article about the mayor of Sadr City, Rahim al-Daraji, who says he is authorized to speak on behalf of field commanders...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 12:17 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

January 24, 2007

Webb 4 President (?)

My neighbor sent me a note last night chiding me for finally taking down my Webb for Senate sign at the end of my driveway, on the eve of Webb...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 01:01 AM | Fulltext link (20 comments)

January 22, 2007

Grave implications of the Karbala raid

It seems the US authorities were not eager for the US public (or anyone else) to know the details of the lethally effective raid mounted against US occupation forces in...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 01:04 PM | Fulltext link (9 comments)

January 21, 2007

Chronicle of a debacle foretold

The waPo's Michael Abramowitz and Peter Baker have apparently been partially anointed by the Bush White House as its current chroniclers of choice. And thus, in today's Wapo, we have...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:20 PM | Fulltext link (10 comments)

January 19, 2007

Empire then and now

Posted by Helena Cobban at 10:43 PM | Fulltext link (11 comments)

Moqtada's interview at La Repubblica, translated

Here is a translation of Moqtada's interview with La Repubblica, contributed to JWN's comments section earlier today by "JHM", who modestly writes, "Please let me know if there is something...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 08:19 PM | Fulltext link (18 comments)

January 17, 2007

Washington's shaky political house in Baghdad

I honestly can't decide whether it's hilariously funny or just plain downright tragic, the extent to which the Bushites' have built their entire political "house" in Iraq on a foundation...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:17 PM | Fulltext link (39 comments)

Good cop/ bad cop???

Down near the bottom of his blog post today, Juan Cole wrote this: Al Franken had me on his radio show on Air America Tuesday and suggested that Congress and...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:10 PM | Fulltext link (8 comments)

January 15, 2007

Implementing those 'permissive ROEs' already?

To what degree have the US forces on the ground in Iraq already started implementing the "permissive" Rules of Engagement (ROE) described in this slide presentation from White House staffers...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:06 PM | Fulltext link (1 comments)

Hanging, Decapitation, & Promoting Democracy?

Iraq is starting to look like Jeb Bush's Florida: they can't even do executions right. Today, the Iraqis hanged Saddam Hussein's half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim, and former head of his revolutionary...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 01:24 PM | Fulltext link (9 comments)

The President's "mind"

Does the President think the citizens he serves are that stupid? Does he assume everybody has minds turned to jello by 24? In the face of mounting bi-partisan criticisms of...
Posted by Scott Harrop at 01:59 AM | Fulltext link (6 comments)

January 13, 2007

Broder on Bush's gamble

I don't know when the WaPo started putting thier Sunday columns up on their website on Saturday. But today I just saw this column by the generally very wise Washington...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:22 PM | Fulltext link (8 comments)

Last-ditch ground force 'surge': Israel's precedent

US Secdef Robert Gates, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, was trying to re-package Bush's outrageous "surge" plan in what looked like a frenzied attempt to tamp down...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 12:51 PM | Fulltext link (16 comments)

January 12, 2007

Big shifts against the Bush War

The tectonic plates of history are, finally, shifting in this country. A citizenry that was largely stunned into fearful followership by the attacks of September 2001 has started to regain...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 12:11 PM | Fulltext link (12 comments)

January 11, 2007

US arrests Iranian diplomats in Arbil

I guess this were the (poisoned) first fruits of the "New Way Forward" that Bush announced last night? Early this morning, US forces stormed an Iranian governmental rep's office in...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:03 PM | Fulltext link (62 comments)

The Petraeus doctrine and extra-judicial executions.

I hope you have all now read the table I posted here yesterday, containing my notes on the text of the new US Army-and-Marines counter-insurgency manual co-authored by Gen. Petraeus....
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:52 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

January 10, 2007

Bush's new generals in Iraq

Note to readers: This week I started a new arrangement whereby I shall be cross-posting some JWN posts to "The Notion", a group blog hosted by the venerable New-York-based mag,...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 04:52 PM | Fulltext link (8 comments)

January 08, 2007

How to withdraw from Iraq: The three-step program

So the House Democratic leaders say they want to put forward their own plan for Iraq as a counter to Bush's? Here is an excellent plan that I have thought...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:16 PM | Fulltext link (38 comments)

Congress moves toward confronting Bush on the war

So it seems that the Democratic Party leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have finally "gotten" at least a portion of the antiwar message the voters sent last November?...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 12:24 PM | Fulltext link (3 comments)

Washington's 'benchmarks' for Maliki: Threatening what?

Many voices in the US policymaking elite currently like to couch their discussion of the country's Iraq policy in terms of establishing firm "benchmarks" for Nouri al-Maliki's government in Baghdad,...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:31 AM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

January 05, 2007

Musical (deck-)chairs in Bush's running of Iraq policy

The Bushists have been leaking news of a fairly large number of upcoming personnel changes, amny of which have to do with the implementation of their Iraq policy. In the...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 02:20 PM | Fulltext link (2 comments)

January 04, 2007

Iraq: Battle of the narratives

And you thought the war in Iraq was about weapons and armies? No, indeed not. Weapons and armies and such things in the physical world are the tools; but what...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:37 PM | Fulltext link (28 comments)

January 01, 2007

Discussing the 'surge' with Reidar Visser

Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:03 PM | Fulltext link (51 comments)

The 3,000th-- and all the others...

On December 28, 2006 Spc. Dustin R. Donica, 22, of Spring, Texas became the 3,000th US service-member to die during the current US war in Iraq. May he and...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 03:31 PM | Fulltext link (5 comments)

Zeyad compiles Iraqi bloggers' reactions to Saddam's hanging

Zeyad of Healing Iraq has a very informative compilation of the main reactions that Iraqis blogging in English have had to Saddam Hussein's hanging. (Okay, it's also posted at IraqSlogger;...
Posted by Helena Cobban at 11:27 AM | Fulltext link (1 comments)