Saturday, February 17, 2007

Recommended Reading

  • Vindicating Douglas Feith New York Sun February 12, 2007.

  • Tough Questions We Were Right to Ask, by Douglas J. Feith. Washington Post Wednesday, February 14, 2007.

  • A conversation with Douglas J. Feith: "When is it appropriate to scrub the consensus?" RedState.com. February 16, 2007.

  • Iraq in Books, by Michael Rubin. Middle East Quarterly Spring 2007:
    The Iraq war has pumped adrenaline into the publishing industry. Whereas five years ago, few bookstores included any selections on Iraq, today dozens of Iraq books line the shelves. There have been three waves of Iraq-related publishing: First came the embed accounts that described the military campaign; second were examinations of prewar planning and, third, studies of the occupation. Quantity does not equal quality, though, nor does popularity correlate to accuracy. Many of the most popular books have been deeply flawed. Many authors use their Iraq narrative to promote other agendas, be they related to U.S. domestic politics, U.N. empowerment, or independence for Kurdistan. Other authors have substituted theory for fact or tried to propel their experience into the center of the Iraq policy debate. While time has already relegated much Iraq-related writing to the secondhand shelf or dustbin, several authors have produced works that will make lasting contributions, be they to future generations of war and post-conflict reconstruction planners, or scholars looking more deeply into the fabric of Iraq.

  • The Evidence On Iran PowerLine February 17, 2007. (See also The Smoking Gun, Redux

  • The war in the shadows against Iran & Sadr, by Bill Roggio. February 14, 2007. The Fourth Rail :
    While the U.S. military and intelligence proceeds cautiously on exposing Iran's involvement in Iraq's insurgency, and treads carefully on exposing Muqtada al-Sadr's backing of the Shia death squads, a war is being fought in the shadows - a war which we only see glimpses of. The war has escalated enough that Muqtada al-Sadr has left Iraq for safe environs in Iran. . . .

  • The Battle for Baghdad Begins StrategyPage.com. February 15, 2007:
    How are the bad guys doing in Iraq? The Iraqi media is full of information on what the various Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions are up to. Lots of the reporting is speculation, but a lot of it is not. If you've been following the action long enough, you can pick out the accurate stories. And the talk on the street and in the shops is also pretty dependable. That said, most people believe al Qaeda in Iraq is finished. . . .