- Two-way influence. (Taheri) Reflecting on the Abu Ghraib scandal and on historical cases where opposing armies have influenced one another’s tactics, Amir Taheri explains that “it is impossible to wrestle with an adversary and not have one’s sweat mixed with his.” He concludes that “... the uniqe opportunity to stabilise and rebuild Iraq as a democratic state must not be wasted. Let us have all the Abu Ghraib trials we need. But let us not forget June 30, the date for transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government, and January 2005, the date for the first free elections in that country’s history.”
- Dark future, vicious cycle. (Iraq the Model) In a wry post on Iraq’s “dark future,” Ali warns of “the dangers of the vicious cycle of (prosperity-stability-more prosperity-more stability).” His cousin Ibrahim is a case study.
