In Iraq: Andrew F. Krepenavich, Jr.,"How to Win in Iraq," Foreign Affairs, September/October 2005. Krepenavich argues that"winning will require a new approach to counterinsurgency ... that focuses on providing security to Iraqis rather than hunting down insurgents [a]nd it will take at least a decade." It strikes me that he may be exactly right, but that the advice comes too late – after the Bush administration has wasted three years on a failed policy, failed to guarantee sufficient troops and materiel to do the job, and now faces domestic problems that make it near impossible to reverse those mistakes. Thanks to Anthony at Irregular Analysis for the tip.

In the Ivy Leagues: Benjamin Weintraub,"In Memoriam: Barrington Moore, Jr.," Harvard Crimson, 28 October; and
Andrew Mangino,"Robert Kagan ‘80 Follows Father But Forges Own Path," Yale Daily News, 27 October.
Thanks to Alfredo Perez at Political Theory Daily Review for the tips.

In the Bush Leagues: Lewis L. Gould,"Stop the Campaigning," Washington Post, 30 October. Gould argues that non-stop campaigning has kept the Bush administration from governing. Meanwhile, Josh Marshall is doing a good close reading of the Liddy indictment.

Jonathan Dresner - 10/30/2005

Moore's great comparative work was easy to beat up on in later years (I had one particularly memorable graduate seminar in which we spent a few weeks doing just that) but it was there that I learned two very important things. First, if you're going to use arguments and examples from outside your field, don't get over-reliant on a few sources. Second, whatever theory you think you've got, India will be a problem.