Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq on May 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“It is time for the democracy-promotion community to discard the transition paradigm”, Thomas Carothers wrote in 2002.
Analyzing data from countries democracy advocates had labeled “transitional”, Carothers posited that it was no longer appropriate to assume, for example, that:
… countries moving away from authoritarianism tend to follow a three-part process of democratization consisting of opening, breakthrough, [...]
Posted in Iraq, SOFA on May 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
First Sistani, now Sadr.
The Status of Forces Agreement is shaping up to be the next big hurdle the U.S. and the Maliki government have to negotiate before, well, the one after that. I for one would like to propose a foreign policy doctrine to the next president: instead of trying to legitimise overstaying your welcome, [...]
Posted in Iraq: Elections on May 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Iraqi provincial elections will probably be delayed “for at least a month” because of political squabbling, according to Associated Press. Among the hurdles:
Maliki’s attempt to include a provision banning parties with militias from running, which is unacceptable to the Sadrists. If applied logically, the law would also ban ISCI and the Kurdish parties, but hey, [...]
Posted in Iraq, Mosul on May 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Insurgents who vanished from Mosul before the recent government operations have regrouped elsewhere in Nineveh, terrorising the Yazidi communities west of the city, Azzaman reports.
‘The residential settlements and villages of the district of Sinjar are lost to gunmen. They have burned official records and caused a lot of damage and many casualties,’ one source told [...]
Posted in Afghanistan on May 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The EU has agreed to bolster its ridiculously undermanned police mission in Afghanistan, although “it was not immediately clear which nations would send more training experts”.
Meanwhile, Italy will cut its troop strength by about 300 soldiers, although, according to Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, “We are not talking about the number of troops… We [...]
Posted in Nuclear weapons on May 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Good lord.
Posted in Iraq, Iraq: Elections on May 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The Iraqi Kurdish leadership wants to postpone the provincial elections in the disputed areas, including the city of Kirkuk, until Article 140 of the constitution is implemented, Kurdish Globe reports.
The national law of the provincial council elections has not yet been passed by the Iraqi Council of Representatives, and the Kurds are putting forward efforts [...]
Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Media on May 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In today’s New York Times, David Carr laments the lack of media attention to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There’s plenty of blame to go around: battle fatigue at home, failing media resolve and a government intent on controlling information from the battlefield.
Okay, but how about the quality of the stories? Are you really doing [...]
Posted in ISF, Iraq, Mosul on May 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Increasing insurgent violence? “Final showdowns” that fizzle out? Think you’ve heard it all before? That’s because, well, you have.
“Insurgent violence mounting in the north” — The San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 2004
“In Mosul, a Battle ‘Beyond Ruthless” – The Washington Post, April 13, 2005
“Mosul slips out of control as the bombers move in” — The [...]
Posted in Militancy on May 25, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Ahmed Rashid reviews seven important books on jihadi terrorism in The New York Review of Books. Money quote:
Of course al-Qaeda is still engaged in conventional guerrilla wars, fighting US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but today, seven years after September 11, jihad for al-Qaeda and its worldwide allies increasingly means one thing—suicide bombing. This is [...]
