Why there will always be a Syrian problem.
Tag: Iraq
Liberation day in Iraq?
On April 9, 2003, the day Saddam's statue came down in Baghdad, National Review Online asked me for a quick response. In the midst of the exuberance, and the facile comparisons with the fall of the Berlin Wall, I struck this cautionary note: The Iraqis, in the end, did not rise up. They waited to …
Saddam in Court: Who’s on Trial?
With Saddam in U.S. hands, thoughts turn to his future trial. Various pundits have claimed that it won't be enough to examine Saddam's crimes. It will also be necessary to probe U.S. and Western support for his regime, during the decade of the Iran-Iraq war and the lead-up to Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The …
Getting Iraq Right…from Miami…in Ohio
Adeed Dawisha is an old friend with a new book: Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: From Triumph to Despair (Princeton University Press). It's a searing indictment of Arab nationalism from an insider's perspective. And it's especially relevant now, for the reason I underline in my jacket endorsement of the book: Why does the world …
On Entering Basra and Baghdad, Avoid This Mistake
As war against Saddam looms, military planners should read a very pertinent article by the late Elie Kedourie. Its title: "The Sack of Basra and the Baghdad Farhud." It's the story of how not to occupy Iraq's two principal cities. In 1941, the British sent forces into Iraq to remove a pro-Axis military junta from …
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Iraq: Another “Expert” Blind Spot
Where are America's Iraq experts? According to one view, the media are hiding them from you. That's the claim of Juan Cole, University of Michigan historian. He's one of the establishment boosters of Middle Eastern studies, and a staunch defender of the Middle East Studies Association against all comers. (He also edits its quarterly journal.) …
The Saddam Papers
Saddam soon will be history. It's important that the United States collect and preserve as much of it as possible. I refer to the vast archives of the various arms of the Iraqi regime: the presidency of the republic, the Baath Party, the Republican Guard, the intelligence and security organizations, the ministries of foreign affairs …
Where have all the Iraq experts gone? Long time passing
As the United States moves toward a war to remove Saddam Hussein, we will experience many moments of deja vu. Whether we are any the wiser remains to be seen, but we are certainly poorer. That's because two scholars who spoke great truths about Iraq are no longer with us. Elie Kedourie was born in …
Continue reading Where have all the Iraq experts gone? Long time passing
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