I've gone almost a week without posting anything about the current news from the Iraq War. So I'll make up for part of that by posting a few of the more interesting stories I came across this past week.
My man Rummy did a memo that got a lot of attention. The pundits are all speculating on exactly what it means and who leaked it. But it sure paints a different picture than the official happy talk about Iraq. (Heavy sarcasm on the "my man" bit.)
Seymour Hersh did an analysis of pre-war intelligence problems. This is the kind of article us poli-sci geeks love, because it talks about how process affects outcome. (I recommend Hersh with some reservations; his 1997 book The Dark Side of Camelot drew a lot of criticism for his use of stories that most historians would not have credited.)
Anthony Shadid of the Washington Post reports on discussions among Iraqi intellectuals about the country's future. Shadid is one of the few Western reporters in Iraq that speaks fluent Arabic. His stories are always worth reading.
Iraq War fans have been telling us endlessly about the schools, schools, lots of schools, that the occupation forces are building in Iraq. Juan Cole reports, "The Iraqi interim Interior Ministry announced that is has hired 1000 school guards to prevent the kidnapping of children and the holding of them for ransom. Lack of security has discouraged some families from sending children to school, especially girls."
The Independent quotes a representative of the Iraqi Governing Council pitching for money at the Madrid Conference by telling them that "more than two-thirds of Iraqis depend on food rations, less than half have access to clean drinking water and one in five children under the age of five is malnourished. Health conditions are deteriorating with maternal mortality quadrupuling and diseases such as malaria returning to Iraq."
Human Rights Watch evaluates the Iraq situation: Hearts and Minds.
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