Gareth Porter

The George W. Bush administration has embarked on a new effort to pressure Iraq’s militant Shi’ite party leaders to give up their control over internal security affairs that could lead the Shi’ites to reconsider their reliance on U.S. troops. The looming confrontation is the result of U.S. concerns about the takeover of the Interior Ministry … Continue reading “US-Shi’ite Struggle Could Spin Out of Control”

The Bush administration has just provided a textbook demonstration of the successful manipulation of public opinion. By repeating the theme that the United States is winning the war in Iraq for weeks, George W. Bush has now convinced 60 percent of Americans that the United States will win, and nearly as many that it is … Continue reading “Why the War Has Already Been Lost”

Leading Sunni clerics and insurgent organizations are unofficially encouraging voting by Sunnis in Thursday’s parliamentary elections for a slate of candidates who are calling for a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. The decision to support participation in the election is the latest step in an evolving Sunni strategy that now combines armed struggle, participation in … Continue reading “Sunnis Opt for Ballots – and Bullets”

U.S. President George W. Bush’s adamant rejection of a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq effectively slams the door on a recent reported offer from Sunni resistance groups to eliminate the al-Qaeda terrorist haven in Iraq as part of a negotiated peace agreement. At the recent Iraqi reconciliation meeting in Cairo, leaders of three Sunni armed … Continue reading “No-Timetable Policy Rules Out a Deal on Zarqawi”

The final communiqué of the Cairo Conference of Iraqi political groups last week appears to be a tentative first step in a process that could eventually lead to a peace settlement in Iraq. The Shi’ite leadership of Iraq may not be ready to negotiate with the Sunni insurgents yet, but its behavior at the conference … Continue reading “Was Cairo Meet First Step Toward Peace Talks?”

Reports compiled by the U.S. military in Iraq from its informants and by non-governmental organizations from independent Iraqi sources provide the first detailed picture of a campaign of ballot fraud by Kurdish authorities in Nineveh province, the key to the outcome of the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum. They show that officials of the Kurdish Democratic … Continue reading “Witnesses Describe Ballot Fraud in Nineveh”

The George W. Bush administration is citing the formation of a coalition of Sunni political organizations to run candidates in Iraq’s December parliamentary elections, and high Sunni turnout in the recent referendum, as evidence that its policy of attracting Sunnis away from the insurgency is working. But this argument ignores the evidence from both the … Continue reading “Reports of Sunni Enthusiasm May Be Premature”

The early vote totals from Nineveh province, which suggested an overwhelming majority in favor of Iraq’s draft constitution that assured its passage by national referendum, now appear to have been highly misleading. The final official figures for the province, obtained by IPS from a U.S. official in Mosul, actually have the constitution being rejected by … Continue reading “Vote Figures for Crucial Province Don’t Add Up”

Despite last-minute maneuvering by Shiite and Kurdish leaders to offer the possibility of further changes in Iraq’s draft constitution, and warnings by foreign jihadists against participation, all indications are that Sunnis will turn out in large numbers Saturday to cast ballots in the country’s referendum. The very large number of Sunnis expected at the polls … Continue reading “Sunni Strategy Shifts Toward Voter Turnout”

If the referendum on Iraq’s draft constitution next month is conducted fairly, it now appears very likely that the document will be defeated by a two-thirds majority in the three Sunni-dominated provinces of Anbar, Salahadeen, and Nineveh, plunging Iraq into a new political crisis. However, one way such a defeat could be averted is by … Continue reading “Kurdish Voting Shenanigans May Tip Referendum”