Antiwar.com Blog

Professor Juan Cole explains the splits and similarities inside the Shi’ite political factions in Iraq, the recent Sadr-inspired protests, accusations that Sadr is the tool of Iran, how our government lies when they blame American deaths on Iran-backed militias, tensions between the governments of Kurdistan and Turkey and the ability of local powers to work out their own problems.

MP3 here. (28:28)

Juan R. I. Cole is Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan. He has written extensively about modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. His most recent book is Sacred Space and Holy War. His blog, Informed Comment, is a widely read source for Middle East news and commentary.

Former Constitutional lawyer and author Glenn Greenwald discusses the constitutional limits on the President’s war powers, the sad history of the government’s lack of compliance with these rules, the radical and totalitarian impulse of our neoconservatives today, the neocon/Federalist Society’s bogus “Unitary Executive theory,” Rudy Giuliani’s embrace of the idea of unlimited power for himself and the new peace and freedom realignment of the liberal left, paleo-right and libertarians.

MP3 here. (32:59)

Glenn Greenwald was previously a constitutional law and civil rights litigator in New York. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling book How Would a Patriot Act?, a critique of the Bush administration’s use of executive power, released in May 2006. His second book, Tragic Legacy, examines the Bush legacy and will be released by Random House/Crown in June 2007.

Better get the Filipinos, too, just to be safe.

(If you’re scratching your head, read the posts and comments over the last 24 hours at some of the wingnut blogs.)

[Update: Link on “comments” fixed.]

Richard Perle’s still hawking the neocon project, and PBS and the Washington Post are still giving him a platform to do so. If you, dear reader, can think of any questions for Mr. End-to-Evil, he’ll be online Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET for a discussion. I doubt he’ll swing at anything but the slowest pitches, but you can submit questions here.

Roy Eidelson sends along this sober and useful video on countering the War Party’s psychological appeals.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81UKnb5zJbM[/youtube]

Behzad Yaghmaian, discusses the history of American regime change in Iran, the tyranny of the American puppet, the Shah Pahlavi and his brutal SAVAK, the tyranny of the Ayatollahs who took his place, why American “help” hurts reformers and fears that if Bush bombs them the repercussions for millions of people all over the world will be disastrous.

MP3 here. (35:19)

Behzad Yaghmaian is the author of Embracing the Infidel: Stories of Muslim Migrants on the Journey West and Social Change in Iran: An Eyewitness Account of Dissent, Defiance, and New Movements for Rights. He is a professor of political economy at Ramapo College of New Jersey.