+ Wilsonizer is reading PNM on Hugh's recommendation. + tdaxp toasts the blogosphere and links Jimmy Carter's New Book, Israeli nationalism v. Globalism, and Another spiral development attempt on the Carter book controversy. + gringoman, a frequent c...

Jan. 11: After admitting in his Wednesday night address that he made mistakes in Iraq, President Bus...

"Surge Based on Faulty President."

Fixed!

Conceivable, just not all that likely.

The reason Maliki’s government is “dependent for its future on Shiite death squads” is the lack of security, not some deep-seated cultural imperative. In a state of anarchy, people pick sides.

I'm not sure that's right, James. I think that Maliki's promises to crack down on militias are somewhat like a leader of the Crips promising to crack down on gangs. He may be sincere and his statement may be true but it won't bring an end to gang warfare.

Similarly, Maliki is a creature of the militias. Will he crack down on his own?

Remember when the USSR collapsed? I recall reading an article, it may have been in Foreign Affairs, about what had happened after the fall of the central gov't - with no real authority there was not, for example, a credible police force. With no way to enforce or protect property rights, organized crime became the de facto gov't in many parts of Russia. I think we're seeing similar things in Iraq...

My wife and I listened to the President’s speech on Iraq as we returned from puppy training last night. The full text of the speech is here. There’s a slideshow version of the Iraq Strategy Review . I think the Washington Post’s su...