Five Years On: The Pentagon Still Struggling to Make Sense of Iraq
Reidar Visser, Historiae (Oct 1, 2008)
The U.S. presidential candidates are not the only ones scrambling to
put together a credible interpretation of the situation in Iraq these
days. Today, Pentagon released its latest report to the U.S. Congress,
entitled "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq."
Whose War Will Win the Election -- McCain's or Obama's?
Ira Chernus , TomDispatch.com (Sep 30, 2008)
In 1932, in the midst of a disastrous economic meltdown, Franklin D.
Roosevelt made "the forgotten man" the centerpiece of his presidential
election campaign. Far more than we suspect, this year's election may
turn not on a forgotten man, but on a forgotten war in a forgotten
country.
No, Senator Obama, On This One You Were Wrong and McCain Was Right
Reidar Visser, Historiae (Sep 29, 2008)
Senator Barack Obama to Senator John McCain during yesterday's
presidential debate: "You said that there was no history of violence
between Shiite and Sunni. And you were wrong." Since this is forceful claim about Iraqi history which was presented
during a contest for the position as the world's most powerful leader,
it is worth examining in some further detail. Let's take a closer look
at that "history of violence between Shiite and Sunni" in Iraq.
Sunnis Need Political Power
Tiare Rath, Institute for War and Peace Reporting (Sep 29, 2008)
An upcoming provincial council election is certain to turn a new page
in Iraqi politics by boosting the representation of Iraq’s
once-powerful Sunni Arab minority. Iraq seems to be moving forward these days. Its citizens are fed up
with sectarianism and extremism, the violence is somewhat contained,
foreign diplomats are returning to Baghdad and high oil prices are
feeding the state treasury. Amid the positive signs, the omission of Sunni Arabs from local
councils remains a black mark on the process of political development.
Iraq's biggest hospitals become sick
Arkan Hamed and Dahr Jamail, Inter Press Service (Sep 25, 2008)
Not even the elevators work now at Baghdad Medical City, built once as the center for some of the best medical care. One of the ten elevators still does, and the priority for this is
patients who have lost their legs -- and there are many of them. The
rest, the doctors, patients and students at the four specialized
teaching hospitals within the building complex, just take the stairs,
sometimes to the 18th floor.
Awash in "Missing" Weapons
Pratap Chatterjee, Inter Press Service (Sep 23, 2008)
Clandestine gun suppliers, funded by the U.S. and
Iraqi governments, have flooded Iraq with a million weapons since 2003,
charges a new Amnesty International investigation. Because of faulty or non-existent government tracking systems, many of
those guns have gone missing, and some have turned up in the hands of
insurgents. Contracts with one of these companies, Taos Industries, account for
almost half of the 217 million dollars Baghdad and Washington have
officially spent to arm the Iraqi army, police and security forces
employed by various Iraqi ministries.
No Friends but the Kurds? The Biden Problem in Democratic Iraq Policy
Reidar Visser, Historiae (Sep 17, 2008)
In defining his "gravitas" on foreign policy, the statesmanlike thing
for Biden to do would be to admit mistakes when it comes to his
interpretation of Iraqi politics, and instead focus on those aspects of
his Middle East initiatives that are constructive, such as his warnings
against a war on Iran. Iraqi politicians already speak about Biden as
the father of a second "Balfour declaration" because of his "plans",
and the Democratic Party would lose its credibility in the entire Arab
world if these schemes were allowed to snowball.
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