I concur with Ackerman et al that Maliki is taking a very serious gamble by moving against the “Awakening” leadership. The success of the Iraqi Army in Basra and Baghdad (albeit with US support) has been greater than I expected, but challenging the Sunni elite is a different job altogether. I’m guessing that Maliki thinks […]
Tag: surge
From Marc Lynch’s summary of a US Institute for Peace panel he attended last week.: Finally, Kim Kagan shocked me with a comment made forcefully, twice, once towards the end of her prepared rema
I mostly agree with what Ezra says here, here, and here about David Brooks Surge column. I would diverge slightly in regards to his discussion of the four trends that have led to a decrease in violenc
Weak, even for him: But before long, the more honest among the surge opponents will concede that Bush, that supposed dolt, actually got one right. Some brave souls might even concede that if the U.S. had withdrawn in the depths of the chaos, the world would be in worse shape today. It’s not as deliberately […]
And so it goes: U.S. forces are holding nearly all of these [24,000] persons indefinitely, without an arrest warrant, without charge, and with no opportunity for those held to defend themselves in a t
Phil Carter and Eli Lake, in reference to the article discussed here:Does it look to anyone else as if Eli is smoking a joint? One of the interesting things about Bloggingheads is that the discussants
This looks to me like a clean victory for Sadr. In the words of the immortal Jim Malone, if you open the door on these people, you have to be prepared to close it; Maliki couldn’t close it, and now he looks pathetic. It’s becoming clear that Maliki or elements within his government asked Sadr […]
Following up on Scott’s post about today’s outbursts in Baghdad and Basra — which suggest a possible collapse of the Shia cease-fire — here’s Marc Lynch on the other half
…for abolishing the Air Force better than I ever could. In a rather incoherent op-ed in yesterday’s NYT, Major General Charles Dunlap makes the following series of claims: The military suc
While we’re on the topic of Slate contrarians, here’s Mickey reacting to the Korb/Katulis/Podesta op-ed: When you write a sentence like: the progress being made at the local level often undermines the stated goal of creating a unified, stable, democratic Iraq you have to come up with, you know, an example. Maybe in the next […]
I’ve been waiting a bit before posting any thinking on the Surge and the drop in violence in Iraq, but I think it’s time now for a few observations. First off, it is important to recognize