The Iraqi Parliament passed the provincial elections law today, but do me a favour and hold on to the champagne. Marc Lynch explains why:
Bottom line: the rush to pass the law by an arbitrary deadline likely means that it will not be ratified by Talabani and thus the elections will not be held even [...]
Archive for July, 2008
Iraq: Provincial Elections Law Passed But Nothing Changes
Posted in Iraq, Iraq: Elections on July 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Iraq: The Art of Withdrawing 140,000 Soldiers
Posted in Election 08, Iraq on July 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Now that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama agree on a withdrawal timetable, and Senator John McCain’s campaign has acknowledged being “fucked”, only one question remains:
If most U.S. troops are to be out of Iraq by the end of 2010, when will they start leaving?
Next summer, that’s when.
The [...]
Way Back When: Kabul, 1993
Posted in Afghanistan on July 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I have fond memories of Kabul.
I first visited the city in December 1991 when it was still leafy and tranquil and under communist control. I stayed in a small hotel in the centre of town and frequented the UN Club with Iranian photographer Alfred Yagobzadeh, who had done amazing work in Lebanon and in the [...]
Maliki and Obama: Lost in Translation — Or Not
Posted in Election 08, Iraq on July 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki yesterday blamed Der Spiegel for mistranslating his words when the magazine quoted him as supporting Senator Barack Obama’s pullout plan.
But now the New York Times has obtained the interview tapes, and according to their translation, that’s about what Maliki said:
[...] The interpreter for the interview works for Mr. Maliki’s office, [...]
Iraqi Elections: Waiting for Godot
Posted in Iraq, Iraq: Elections, Media on July 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
News about the postponepent of the Iraqi provincial elections has been picked up by the wires, a mere five days after Marc Lynch blogged about it. Lynch himself has another good post detailing the confusion about when exactly the elections might be held.
The reason I keep harping on the mainstream media’s performance is that I [...]
Obama on Afghanistan
Posted in Afghanistan, Election 08 on July 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Some of my fears are allayed here.
But it’s evident he doesn’t have a strategy for dealing with Pakistan.
About These Recent Troubles in Aghanistan…
Posted in Afghanistan on July 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A blurb for a PBS news report :
America thought it had won the war in Afghanistan six years ago, but a recent escalation in violence and instability—including the death of nine U.S. soldiers this past weekend—has given rise to the question: Have we allowed the Taliban to come back?
“Recent escalation”?? “Have we allowed the Taliban [...]
Iraq: Good News — Almost, Kind of
Posted in Iraq on July 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
After five years of horror in Iraq, we’ve apparently reached a point where even news tinged with tragedy sounds encouraging.
Examples:
Sunni Tawafiq bloc rejoins the government (good news) — but not without infighting (bad).
Iraqi Government rejects U.S. demands for open-ended troop presence (good news) — but ends up with an ambiguous deal nevertheless (bad).
Parliament announces it [...]
Taleban Surrenders, Citing Michael Yon’s Imminent Arrival
Posted in Afghanistan, Iraq, Media on July 19, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Despite being the Stupidest Man on Earth, I’m sometimes right, and it hurts every time.
Last week I predicted that as the demand for news from Iraq drops, the hacks now covering that war will emigrate to Afghanistan. Now it turns out that, after pronouncing the Iraq war “won”, the inimitable Michael “We’re Winning” Yon is [...]
Team Obama Turns Out to Be Team Clinton
Posted in Afghanistan, Election 08 on July 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday I criticised Barack Obama (and John McCain) for misidentifying the enemy the U.S. and its allies are confronting in Afghanistan:
Neither candidate has thus far shown any understanding of the social, cultural and geopolitical realities of the battlefields of Afghanistan and its neighbours. Neither seems to acknowledge that their foe — and ours — is [...]
