Unqualified Offerings

How come nobody told me about The Defeatists blog? I have to find it out in the streets, via Hammer of Truth.
UPDATE: The symptoms spread. Nell has a blog now. OUR Nell from many a comment thread and, needless to say, a life that long precedes and ranges far beyond UO. Go go go!

Roger Petersen and Paul Staniland of MIT offer a three-point plan for averting an Iraqi civil war by diversifying the security forces. In summary
* “First, Sunni veterans need to continue being brought back into the security forces.”
* “Second, the US and its Iraqi allies need to shape the deployment of security forces so [...]

Iraq through the prism of Vietnam by retired general William E. Odom, former head of the NSA.
The film version of The Quiet American played in the DC area sometime in late 2003, I think. Ever after, when hawks would say, “Iraq is not like Vietnam!” my response was, “Vietnam when?” Because 2003 Baghdad sure [...]

The voluble Mr. Abu Kazem’s confession may be just syncopation in the Iran-Wardrum Suite – I imagine that Basra’s Shi’ite militias need no particular help selecting assassination targets – but neither he nor the anonymous British spokescogs quoted have any trouble acknowledging something we’ve known for some time: There are murderous gangs connected with the [...]

Barry Posen’s 18-month withdrawal plan in Boston review. I’ve got stuff to say later, but one particular paragraph jumped out at me:
The most likely military outcome of this civil war is a stalemate, and this is what the United States should aim for. Though there may be considerable bloodletting, it is unlikely that any group [...]

Christopher Allbritton’s response to Ralph Peters echoes themes familiar to UO readers. Allbritton is, of course, not tucked away in New York and, he has mentioned before, not living in the Green Zone either. He adds a new, factual rebuttal of one of the thrusts of Peters’ column:
Then he says, “If reporters really care, it’s [...]