History repeats itself: first as tragedy, then on CNN

Brendan: So: what will be returned to the Iraqi people in a few months time? Sovereignty or something else? Well, maybe nothing if the UN can't get its act together. Despite what has been reported, France and Russia are still unhappy with what is on the table: 'France proposed an amendment that gives Iraq a virtual veto over US-led "sensitive offensive...  Full post

Unfit to Print?

Aron Trauring: An excellent analysis by Michael Massing (in the New York Review of Books), why the US press is failing on the job in reporting about Iraq. US news organizations in Iraq suffer from a more engrained problem. As American institutions covering an American occupation, they invariably share certain premises and presumptions about the conflict. Even as reporters rush to chronicle...  Full post

The Doctor is In

Aron Trauring: Zvi Bar'el is always worth reading for his dispassionate and informed analysis of political machinations in the Arab world. This piece on Alawi doesn't provide any definitive answers about what will happen next, but it does provide useful information. It is not just prestige and authority that are at stake: Political appointments in Iraq right now translate into huge sums...  Full post

It's going to get worse before it gets even more worse.

Brendan: Gloomy article by David Hirst which talks about the consequences for the Middle East if, af seems likely, things continue to get worse over the long, hot, summer. 'An American disaster in Iraq always had the built-in propensity to become a regional one. For years it had been all but axiomatic that any western intervention to bring down Saddam needed...  Full post