Examining the Surge: Lynch Speaks at CATO
Marc Lynch, a professor at George Washington University, is one of those must-read commentators on the Middle East. He’s extremely knowledgeable, has got a good sense of humor, and he doesn’t appear to harbor any particular agenda. Lynch, in a major way, has helped to shape my view of the Iraq debate. Unlike many other analysts, Lynch actually reads Arabic and has an extremely good understanding of the dynamics between various players in the region.
Recently, he spoke at the CATO Institute about developments in Iraq. I didn’t make it, but I was pleased to see that some of the video footage is up online. Lynch, quite clearly and succinctly, spells out why many of us are so skeptical of the surge and he skillfully takes on this notion of “bottom-up reconciliation.”
2 Responses to “Examining the Surge: Lynch Speaks at CATO”
Absolutely on the Marc (no pun intended). His comment to the effect that we are falling for our own propaganda about the Anbar miracle is as true as our initial miscalculation of being greeted with flowers.
We simply must get out and let them have their civil war so they can sort out their ultimate power structure. We had our civil war and it was unfortunately necessary. Can you imagine the chaos if France or Britain had interfered with our civil war? Let Iraq be done with theirs.
If we keep putting a lid on it we’ll probably have 500,000 Iraqis killed in the next 20 years anyway. If we left after that, Iraq would have their civil war anyway, killing untold hundreds of thousands.
Combine this video with this link and it makes for pretty depressing breakfast reading