Will vacation w/ family until Sept. 15. There will be absolutely no blogging.
Archive for August, 2009
Blogging Break
Posted in Misc on August 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Breaking: Taliban Declared Winners in Afghan Election
Posted in Afghanistan on August 28, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Reuters:
Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission has received more than 2,000 complaints of fraud or abuse in last week’s disputed presidential election, with 270 now listed as serious enough to affect the result, it said Friday.
Sri Lanka: War According to Rajapaksa
Posted in Sri Lanka on August 28, 2009 | 4 Comments »
How did the Sri Lankan government finally prevail in the conflict with the Tamil Tigers after 28 years of failure? Easy — instead of trying to protect the population or offer a political solution, it proceeded to wage total war, dismissing international opinion and with little regard for civilian casualties.
The Indian Defence Review, in an [...]
Iraq: The Doomed Peace, Pt. 2
Posted in Iraq on August 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I cannot often claim to have been prescient about anything, so forgive me for advertising my own stuff a little.
Last May, after returning from Baghdad, I posted a bullet-point list of gloomy thoughts about the country’s immediate future. I was wide off the mark on one issue — predicting that the transition of security duties [...]
Iraq: Sadr-Badr Alliance to Challenge Maliki
Posted in Iraq on August 24, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Meanwhile, in the Forgotten War:
Major Shiite groups have formed a new alliance that will exclude the Iraqi prime minister, lawmakers said Monday, a move likely to stoke fears of increasing Iranian influence and shake up the political landscape ahead of January parliamentary elections.
The coalition will include the largest Shiite party, the Iranian-backed Supreme Iraqi Islamic [...]
Breaking: Finnish Blogger Nibbled to Death by Fellow Doves
Posted in Afghanistan, Pakistan on August 24, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Matthew Yglesias thinks I’m overestimating the Taliban:
Seriously, however high ‘toppling the Pakistani government’ may be on the Taliban to-do list, it’s still, you know, hard. Indeed, it’s worth emphasizing that on both sides of the border there are actual human beings living and fighting against the Taliban who would continue to resist Taliban domination of [...]
Afghan Strategy: All Means, No End
Posted in Afghanistan on August 21, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Bernard Finel lays out an alternative strategy for Afghanistan:
A “relatively rapid” withdrawal of combat forces from Afghanistan.
Development aid and military assistance to the Afghan government.
Should the Taliban regain power, “limited but consistent” diplomatic engagement and “credible communication” of “our commitment to again remove them from power if they in any way tolerate the establishment of [...]
9/11, American Myopia and Nuclear War
Posted in Afghanistan, Pakistan on August 20, 2009 | 11 Comments »
Suppose 9/11 never happened.
In Afghanistan, the Taleban celebrate their 13th year in power. In neighbouring Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf or another military dictator is toasting with them, comfortable in the knowledge that his country’s strategic interests are safe. Across the world, high-profile attacks by terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan are met with shock and horror, but [...]
As Iraq Burns, the World… Yawns
Posted in Iraq on August 19, 2009 | 10 Comments »
Okay — at what point do we stop saying this is just expected and unavoidable “residual violence” and admit things don’t look so dandy? When the statistics come in? When Maliki is killed or Kirkuk goes up in flames?
My guess is never.
Iraq was never a country, it was the name of an American misadventure, and [...]
Afghanistan: Foust, Cohen Discuss Why
Posted in Afghanistan on August 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If you think Afghanistan matters — and have 69 minutes to spare –, you really need to watch this.
