Juan Cole - July 7, 2005

Statement of Qaeda al-Jihad in Europe

This is my translation of the statement posted at the al-Qal3ah website claiming credit for the London bombings. - JRIC

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' Thursday 30/5/1426 = 7/7/2005

The Group of the Secret Organization
The Organization of Qaedat al-Jihad in Europe

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Blessings and peace be upon the mirthful warrior, our lord Muhammad--may the blessings and peace of God be upon him.

Implications of London Bombing

The attack on London is not something it is easy for me to talk about in dry analytical terms. I've lived in London, doing research, have often visited, and have many friends there. I know the tube or subway stops being talked about, and have ridden the double decker bus that plies the area around Russell Square and Bloomsbury. I want all my British readers and friends to know with what horror and solidarity I watched those images.

16 Killed, 39 Wounded in Guerrilla Violence
Foreign Jihadis Target Shiite Badr Corps

Al-Zaman: A statement attributed to Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has announced the formation of a radical Sunni "Umar Brigades" to target the Shiite "Badr Corps". His group also threatened to execute Egyptian diplomat Ihab Sherif for "apostasy" from Islam. (Radical Salafis accept the doctrine of Sayyid Qutb that secular governments like that of Egypt are "pharaonic" and working for them makes you "not a Muslim." In some versions of medieval Islamic law, having been Muslim and then deserting the faith incurs the death penalty.)

103 Iraqi Parliamentarians Demand Withdrawal of US Troops

Gilber Achcar kindly shares his translation of an al-Hayat article:

'[More than] 103 MPs Demand a Timetable for the Withdrawal of Foreign Troops

More on Exit Strategies

An informed reader writes, regarding the issue of an exit strategy from Iraq:

' First, most reasonable proposals run up against the immovable object of the Bush admin’s unwillingness to admit that it has been wrong about four things – its stated reasons for going to war, the evidence that it provided to support those stated reasons, the Rumsfeld military strategy, and the lack of any clear or consistent political strategy in Iraq. However, most writers seem to ignore the reason