Many of you probably already know this, but just in case you don’t, Reidar Visser now has a blog. What was supposed to be “an occasional supplement” to his excellent website Historiae.org has quickly become the place to visit for deep and up-to-date information on Iraq. There’s a lot to absorb there, but if you [...]
Archive for the ‘Iraq’ Category
The Best Blog About Iraq
Posted in Iraq on November 25, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Iraq: When Violence Becomes Banal
Posted in Iraq on November 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There is much to recommend in Joost Hiltermann’s article in The New York Review of Books about the daunting challenges that may yet lead to Iraq’s unraveling. Money quote from a Western aid worker living in Baghdad’s “red zone”: Some four hundred to five hundred people are killed per month. Compared to other countries, this [...]
Iraq: 155 Dead, Maliki Spotted
Posted in Iraq on October 26, 2009 | 3 Comments »
At least 155 people are dead in the latest bout of residual violence in Baghdad. Merely an expected minor hiccup, of course, and nothing to be worried about, but apparently loud enough for the prime minister himself to put on his wellingtons and hazard a day trip: In a rare personal appearance at a bombing [...]
Iraq: Parliament Adjourns, No Elections Law
Posted in Iraq on October 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Not that anyone’s interested, but I thought I’d mention that yesterday was the deadline for the Iraqi Parliament to pass an electoral law crucial for the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 16. Alas, parliament adjourned for the weekend. Reidar Visser explains: Many of the biggest parties secretly want to keep a closed-list system instead [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Red Cross: Iraq War Isn’t Over
Posted in Iraq on August 13, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I know the knuckleheads won’t be convinced, but here it is, anyway: Despite the common perception that the armed conflict in Iraq is largely over, widespread violence and a lack of respect for human life continue to affect the Iraqi people. Civilians are the primary victims. Mass explosions and indiscriminate attacks are claiming the lives [...]
Iraq: Government Moves to Impose Censorship
Posted in Iraq on August 4, 2009 | 4 Comments »
The Iraqi government is quietly proceeding on new censorship laws, moving to ban web sites deemed harmful to the public, to require Internet cafes to register with the authorities and to press publishers to censor books, the New York Times reports: [...] Opponents of the proposals question why Iraq would seek to impose the same [...]
Iraq: The ‘Let’s Get the Hell Out of Dodge’ Argument
Posted in Iraq on July 31, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I have argued over and again in this blog that the United States must stand up and take moral responsibility for its actions in Iraq, even if it means an open-ended military commitment in an increasingly hostile environment. Even so, I have to admit I find it extremely hard to disagree with Baghdad Operations Command [...]
