An Iran – Iraq Project for an International University

A recent article has discussed the attempt to raise money throughout Asia for an international university in Northern India that would recapture the glory of learning in that area in medieval times. The university is conceptualized as a rebirth of Nalanda University, one of the leading universities in the world during its medieval existence from [...]

The Iraq Study Group: Partial Evaluation

For the last several days many of those concerned with Iraq have been commenting on the Study Group report with its 79 recommendations. It is a short report, easy to read on-line. It is moderate, middle of the road, and yet immediately produced bitter criticisms, particularly from the right. Bush doesn’t like it; the Iraqi [...]

Insurgency or Civil War? When Will It End? How Will It End?

Today’s paper discusses at great length the controversy over whether what we have in Iraq is a civil war or something else. The Bush people do not want to say “civil war” because they fear that the American public would be even less likely to back the effort in the long run if it were [...]

Understanding Iraqis

When I was doing field work in Shiraz in 1958, interviewing a wide variety of people on aspects of Iranian culture, I was often frustrated by the evident unwillingness of my informants to tell me what they really thought. One of my worst experiences was when I set up a meeting between a friend of [...]

Understanding Iraq’s Neighbors: Our Negotiating Partners?

The present discussion of how we might escape unscathed from Iraq centers around two issues: a possible increase in troop strength and negotiating more and more effectively with Iraq’s neighbors.
Let us consider the second possibility. To succeed in the long run in Iraq, it would be helpful to involve all Iraq’s neighboring stakeholders in the [...]

Would more troops on the ground have made a critical difference?

Just after 9/11 when the Administration was thinking big thoughts, I wrote a short paper entitled “A Rescue Mission to Afghanistan”. It outlined what we should be doing in Afghanistan after our impending invasion. It was a plea for an intense and lengthy effort comparable to the assistance we offered Europe and Japan after World [...]

How to Leave Iraq

We left Vietnam when we realized that we had no viable theory of victory. We no longer have any viable theory of victory in Iraq. As this sinks in, we will leave. If we are leaving, the sooner we leave, the less costly for everyone. But whenever we leave, the costs for Iraqis will continue [...]