Topic: Juan Cole

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Iran's nuclear program: 4 things you probably didn't know

Do the US and Israel believe that Iran has a nuclear weapons program? Did President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really promise to "wipe Israel off the map"? The answers may surprise you.
Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?

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Global News Blog Boston Marathon blasts: How the world is responding

The usual joy and pride surrounding Boston's Marathon was marred by yesterday's attack. Headlines from countries familiar with terrorism were filled with support for the city.
Terrorism & Security Syria's violence continues its march across borders, into Iraq

Dozens of Syrian Army soldiers were killed yesterday while in Iraq seeking temporary refuge from fighting with rebels. They were ambushed by suspected Al Qaeda-affiliated militants.
Protests surge in Iraq's Sunni regions, testing Maliki

Across majority Sunni Arab towns in Iraq today hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets,, complaining Sunnis are being targeted by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government.
Iran's nuclear program: 4 things you probably didn't know

Do the US and Israel believe that Iran has a nuclear weapons program? Did President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad really promise to "wipe Israel off the map"? The answers may surprise you.
Terrorism & Security Suicide car bombing in Baghdad underscores spike in Iraq violence

A suicide car bombing at a Baghdad funeral procession comes amid growing questions about the ability of Iraq security forces to contain violence that has killed more than 200 since last month.
Who's who in Iraq after the US exit?

The US troop surge in 2007 helped quiet Iraq's bloody civil war. But it failed to deliver on what US officials and officers said was crucial for Iraq's future at the time: sectarian reconciliation. Rather than forging a new national identity out of the horrors of Iraq's war, Iraq's Shiite and Sunni Arabs and ethnic Kurds sullenly retreated to their own sectarian corners, and the country's political parties remain vehicles for ethnic or sectarian interests. The next year is probably going to be the most crucial for determining the future of Iraq since the US-led invasion of 2003, as Iraq's various political factions compete for power and influence without foreign troops getting in the way. Here are a few of the major players.
Egypt's VP uses state TV to blame unrest on 'foreign agendas'

Egypt's new Vice President Omar Suleiman took to state TV Thursday night to make a play for Mubarak to hang on until presidential elections in September.
The right to safety in Pakistan

A Christian Science perspective.
Iraq violence flares as US begins to draw down troop levels

The killing of five policemen in Baghdad on Tuesday came as President Barack Obama vowed again to fulfill an agreement with the Iraqi government to lower US troop levels from 80,000 to 50,000 by the end of August.
The best lists for the New Year and a fresh decade

With the turn of a new year – and a new decade – everybody's weighing in on the "best" and "most important" things. Here are our picks for the most interesting and provocative lists.
Iran promise to send nuclear fuel abroad: A major concession?

The real test, caution some, is whether Iran follows through on the tentative nuclear deal that would effectively prevent Tehran from developing a bomb.
Iran's seat of theocratic power

The role of the supreme leader has changed, but Iran's top cleric, Ayatollah Khamenei, still holds sway. How the political system in Tehran works, and who will determine what comes next.
Iranians find new ways to keep protests alive

Twitter, Youtube, and the force of the movement for change in Iran make it difficult for the government to paint the protesters as tools of foreign powers.
Iran releases five British embassy employees

Four Iranian employees remain in custody. Iran insists that Britain was involved in organizing the mass protests that have taken place since the presidential election.
Iran arrests 70 professors who met with Mousavi

The move signals that the regime is widening its crackdown from street protesters to the political and intellectual elite.
How Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, sees the world

Ayatollah Khamenei has preserved his view of the revolution in postelection clampdown, analysts say – but perhaps at great cost to the office he occupies.
Is the Sunni-Shiite rift mostly politics and media hype?

A panel discussion Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, was dominated by the perception that the Western media hypes up tensions by focusing too much on the minority of radicals.
In Baghdad, Rice praises law reintegrating former Baathists

The US supports a new law designed to allow some members of Saddam Hussein's party to return to government.