Thursday, September 18, 2008

Understanding Iraq

I just finished reading the book Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq by Irish journalist Patrick Cockburn. I understand much better now why things in Iraq are in such a mess. American leaders, and especially President Bush, continue to be totally ignorant of the culture in that distant land, which explains why we have made the mistakes we have. Our mainstream media seem to be just as clueless as our politicians. From Cockburn’s description of the situation, I don’t see any way America can extract itself from Iraq with any degree of grace without leaving a mess. So we might as well get out as quickly as possible and save the lives of our brave troops.

1 comment:

I Opine for Fun said...

I have not read that book, but after hearing Steven Kinzer talk about the U.S. role in Iran, I can believe we haven't learned much about the Middle Eastern culture.