The Atlantic – The Wrong Man for the Job

Robert D. Kaplan on how Obama’s new ambassador to Iraq is a star diplomat—but has no experience in the Arab world. Why Christopher Hill is a bad choice.

Washington Post – There’s Still a War In Iraq. It Isn’t Ours.

Greg Jaffe writes that the Iraq war is over — for us.

National Interest – Heirs of Sargon

Robert D. Kaplan reviews the history of Iraq.

World Politics Review – The New Rules: ‘Hard Lessons’ from Iraq, for Afghanistan and Beyond

Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that the recurring theme of “Hard Lessons,” the recent report by the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, is that of somebody finally “taking charge.” The description is patently disproven, however, by the sheer volume of its use to describe the procession of all those who tried to do so. In fact, moving “from crisis to crisis,” and creating “ad hoc offices and systems” along the way, U.S. officials reinvented the Iraq wheel darn near annually.

Daily Telegraph – We must take on board the lessons of Iraq

As British troops head home from Iraq, John Keegan says military force should be used only as a last resort.

Washington Post – The war in Iraq isn’t over. The main events may not even have happened yet.

Tom Ricks provides the postscript to his new book entitled “Gamble.”

Washington Post – A Military Tactician’s Political Strategy

The second excerpt from Tom Ricks’ new book on the surge entitled “The Gamble:”

In defending the troop increase, General Petraeus paved the way for a “long war.”

Washington Post – The Dissenter Who Changed the War

The first excerpt from Tom Ricks’ new book on the surge in Iraq, entitled “The Gamble:”

As the No. 2 commander in Iraq, Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno challenged the military establishment, pressing for the case for a “surge” of U.S. troops and a long-term strategy to guide them.

World Affairs – When gadgetry becomes strategy

The US military’s reliance of technical superiority highlights a wayward path that leads back to Vietnam writes H R McMaster.

New York Times – Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders

An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.

National Journal – What Can 44 Do In Iraq And Afghanistan?

The Former CENTCOM Commander Anthony Zinni on Iraq, Afghanistan and the next Administration’s options.

Washington Post – Excepts from Bob Woodward’s new book, The War Within, that describes the inside story of how President Bush’s team dealt with its failing Iraq strategy.

Part 2: Outmaneuvered And Outranked, Military Chiefs Became Outsiders

Part 3: ‘You’re Not Accountable, Jack’

Part 4: A Portrait of a Man Defined by His Wars

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New Yorker – David Petraeus, the pressures of politics, and the road out of Iraq.
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New York Times – John Nagl on what our exit strategy should be from Iraq.
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New York Times Magazine – Michael Gordon writes that the fight between the Shiites and the Sunnis in Iraq seems to be quieting down. But the Shiites still have one fight left — among themselves.
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New York Times – Admiral Fallon shows the way forward in Iraq.
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Associated Press – A nearly 700-page study released Sunday by the Army found that “in the euphoria of early 2003,” U.S.-based commanders prematurely believed their goals in Iraq had been reached and did not send enough troops to handle the occupation.
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Foreign Affairs – The Bush administration’s new strategy in Iraq has helped reduce violence. But the surge is not linked to any sustainable plan for building a viable Iraqi state and may even have made such an outcome less likely — by stoking the revanchist fantasies of Sunni tribes and pitting them against the central government. The recent short-term gains have thus come at the expense of the long-term goal of a stable, unitary Iraq.
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Harvard Political Review – Former CENTCOM Commander Anthony Zinni discusses the future of Iraq and more.
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New York Times – Michael Gordon writes that the decision by L. Paul Bremer III to dissolve Iraqís Army was a reversal from a plan the White House had approved.
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