What will it take for the media to realize that he really doesn't know what he is talking about? In a rational world, this would... [More]
April 1, 2008
April 2, 2008
Curveball
Want to know more about the man pro-war Bush administration officials relied on for " intelligence" as they built their case for war? It was... [More]
The Limits of the Surge
Spencer Ackerman reports: The trend toward increased violence in early 2008 does not rise to the level of the bloodshed Iraq experienced in mid-to-late 2006,... [More]
April 3, 2008
Over Here: Iraq the Place vs. Iraq the Abstraction
If you haven't read George Packer's look back at the first five years of the war in Iraq, please go now and do so. Here's... [More]
April 4, 2008
Quote of the Day
This one comes from the way back machine (and via Jon Taplin): "The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap which... [More]
Meanwhile, In Iraq....
Matt Yglesias passes along a very strange fact: Did you know that many Badr Brigade members are actually drawing pensions from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard... [More]
April 5, 2008
Check The Expiration Date
Bruce Ackerman and Oona Hathaway: A crucial yet overlooked deadline looms over the Iraq debate: Unless further action is taken, the war will become illegal... [More]
"Support the Troops"
Remember when the only thing all of the pro-war people wanted to talk about was "supporting the troops?" Army leaders are expressing increased alarm about... [More]
April 6, 2008
McCain Doesn't Get The Internet Either
20 years ago you could've gotten away with something like this. 20 years ago you were able to say one thing to one audience and... [More]
Meanwhile, In Iraq.... [With 2 Updates]
WaPo: Bush Listens Closely To His Man in Iraq For months, a debate raged at the top levels of the Bush administration over how quickly... [More]
April 7, 2008
Meanwhile, In Iraq...
First, a quick update from the NYT: Sharp fighting broke out in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sunday as American and Iraqi troops... [More]
5 To 10 Years of "Full, Unconditional Commitment"
God help us: A new assessment of U.S. policy in Iraq by the same experts who advised the original Iraq Study Group concludes that political... [More]
April 8, 2008
Army Vice-Chief of Staff Cody: "Today's Army is out of balance."
Something to consider as we prepare for Gen. Petraeus' testimony this week. New Yorker: Last week, the General appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee... [More]
What Americans Think About the War
Glenn Greenwald reports on Gallup's latest poll on the Iraq War. Short version? We all want out, and we want out sooner rather than later.... [More]
Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Dana Goldstein: It seems almost too easy to beat Crocker up about this, but he just said, "Osama bin Laden has called Iraq 'a perfect... [More]
Civil War
Back when our debate over the war in Iraq was focused around whether or not we should use the phrase "civil war" to describe the... [More]
Metrics For Success?
Ezra gets to the fundamental point: Over at Democracy Arsenal, Max writes, "No one, not Crocker or Petraeus can describe what success looks like. When... [More]
April 9, 2008
Please Stop With This "History" Nonsense
I don't know when this started, but it needs to stop. Bush says that history will be the judge of his war, not us. Recently... [More]
100 Years
Although his campaign is still trying to walk back his "100 years" comment, it isn't working because, as Hendrik Hertzberg points out, even in context... [More]
Highlights From Yesterday's Testimony
I was (ad may yet still be) having some technical difficulties with my desktop yesterday, so I didn't get to blog on the Petraeus as... [More]
An Open Ended Commitment
Make no mistake about it. The Bush administration is negotiating an open-ended commitment in Iraq, and they have no intention whatsoever to submit it to... [More]
100 More Years
Matt Yglesias follows-on and makes a very good point: A further thought on John McCain's "as long as our soldiers are not being wounded or... [More]
April 11, 2008
Number of the Day: 3,775
First the excerpt, then I'm outsourcing my response to McMegan: After the Vietnam War, the United States resettled 1.4 million Southeast Asian refugees within its... [More]
Newsflash: Commander in Chief Backs Recommendations of General Under His Command!!!
Could someone please explain to me why everyone is framing today's story about Bush's "new" plan for Iraq like this? Here's just one example from... [More]
April 13, 2008
WaPo: Bush "More Catholic than Kennedy"
Seriously, where does the Washington Post find these people? So what if there are more Catholics on his speechwriting team than any other president in... [More]
Waste, Fraud, and Abuse...
Oh my!... [More]
April 14, 2008
The New Logic Of War
Ladies and gentlemen, your president: Q What can we tangibly do? What can the administration tangibly plead with the Iraqi government to do to protect... [More]
April 16, 2008
Perspective
These are the two best paragraphs I've read on al Qaeda in a long, long time. Via Kevin Drum, Judah Grunstein: The Military Review article... [More]
Bush Lies Because Troops Might Die?
I realize the headline is a bit over the top, but how else would you summarize this in a single sentence? RADDATZ: All during that... [More]
April 18, 2008
Pentagon's National Defense University: Iraq War "A Major Debacle"
Bush always says he listens to his military experts. I wonder if he will listen to this? McClatchy: The war in Iraq has become "a... [More]
"At the Strategic Level Incoherence Reigns"
One of the most frustrating things for me about the war debate has been the way the pro-and anti-Iraq War factions often talk past one... [More]
Quote of The Day II
This comes from the end of a long McClatchy article detailing the continuing fight over Sadr City. It's a depressing article, one that highlights how... [More]
April 19, 2008
You Want Elitism? I'll Show You Elitism
NYT: Some other analysts do not object to Mr. McCain's portraying the insurgency (or multiple insurgencies) in Iraq as that of Al Qaeda. They say... [More]
Meanwhile, In Iraq....
Remember, a decline in violence means we must stay, as will an escalation. AP: Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gave a "final warning" to the... [More]
April 20, 2008
Reactions to the NYT Story
I'm going to update this post over the next few days with some of the best and/or most noteworthy responses to today's big NYT story.... [More]
The Myth of al-Qaeda in Iraq
I have nothing to add to this, so just read... Juan Cole: I am quoted in this NYT piece today on John McCain's allegations that... [More]
April 23, 2008
Bits And Bobs
My Internet connection was down for an hour or two today, so I was forced to do most of my afternoon blog reading with my... [More]
April 24, 2008
Meanwhile, In Iraq...
Here's a newsflash from Iraq that will make some people's heads explode. Juan Cole reports: Iran's foreign minister, Manuchehr Mottaki, strongly backed Prime Minister Nuri... [More]
Good News In Iraq?
If this deal holds, it is very good news. It does, however, seem designed to further isolate al-Sadr, so everything will likely depend on his... [More]
April 25, 2008
Headline + Caption of the Day
Dana Milbank: Iraq War Is Everyone Else's Fault, Feith Explains And underneath a photo of Feith giving a speech somewhere in 2002, this caption: Former... [More]
Good News / Bad News From Iraq
Talk about a mixed bag. NYT: BAGHDAD -- Under pressure from Iraqi government troops and the American military, Moktada al-Sadr called on his followers to... [More]
April 27, 2008
Oh, Canada!
On of my favorite tactics in arguing about the role of Iran in Iraq is to imagine a similar situation much closer to home: if... [More]
April 30, 2008
Shameless
New rule: If you are a senior public official in the United States government and you are forced to admit that "no one could have... [More]
McCain's Iraq Flip Flops
Steve Benen does the world a service by compiling McCain's ever shifting approach to Iraq: * In 2005, McCain decided Iraqis resent our military presence,... [More]
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