Juan Cole - June 26, 2005

Ahmadinejad Uses Bush's Tactics

Supreme Jurisprudent Ali Khamenei gloated Saturday that the Iranian public had "humiliated" Bush by electing hard liner Mahmud Ahmadinejad as president. But in fact, the campaigning style of the two men suggests that in some ways they are soul mates.

Newly elected Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad won in some part by using the same electoral tools as George W. Bush and Karl Rove.

Mosul Police Station blown Up, many Dead
31 Killed Saturday, Dozens Wounded

Mosul: A suicide bomber detonated his payload at the central police station in Mosul on Sunday morning, bringing down part of the wall and killing at least 5 persons, 4 of them officers. At least 7 were wounded. The rubble was still being searched Sunday mid-morning Baghdad time.

Al-Hayat on US contacts with AMS
Chalabi Favors Timeline for US Withdrawal

Gilbert Achcar writes:

Quite interesting excerpts from an article written from Baghdad by Basil Muhammad in today's Al-Hayat, reporting on an interview he made with Abdul-Salam al-Kubaisi, a prominent leading member of the (Sunni) Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the most respected Sunni group vocal against the occupation.