Juan Cole - June 16, 2005

48 Dead in Guerrilla Violence
Suicide Bombing in Khalis Targets Iraqi Troops

Knight Ridder reports that a suicide bomber in an Iraqi army uniform detonated his bomb belt in the midst of Iraqi soldiers eating lunch in Khalis north of Baghdad, killing at least 26 persons [AFP] and wounding 29. Early details were confused and conflicting. AFP reported that wounded soldiers said that the bomber had been a member of their unit and detonated the bomb in an on-base mess hall. Knight Ridder knows that narrative but reports an alternative one, that the soldiers were eating in a restaurant off base and that the bomber was wearing civilian clothes.

Apartheid for Arabs in Irbil?
Iranian Kurds Riot

An eyewitness has described for me by email driving through the north of Kurdistan and seeing enormous posters of Massoud Barzani (the new president of the Kurdistan super-province) after the manner of a cult of personality.

Gitmo-by-the-Sea: 5-Star Holidays for Oppressed Christians: Fisher

Guest Satire by William Fisher

"Oppressed Christians: Looking for a five-star holiday? Have we got a deal for you!

GITMO-By-The-Sea"

Don’t laugh, folks. Our Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could just be poised to become the country’s hottest tourist destination for folks of faith.

It’s hard to see how it could lose, since it’s being promoted by America’s hottest new tourism entrepreneurs -- Alabama’s Senator Jeff Sessions and California congressman Duncan Hunter, chairman of the powerful Armed Services Committee. It’s got a business plan, a high-profile Board of Directors, and all the other bells and whistles of a venture capitalist’s dream.