Yassar asks the kind of question academics both love and hate: "What is exactly the thesis of your book?" We love it because, well, we like to talk about our work. We hate it because, well, we kind of also don't like talking about our work--particularly when much of our discussion depends on arcane disciplinary debates.So, as a temporary evasion, I've decided to post the penultimate introductory chapter of my book manuscript, clumsily entitled...

Current events are depressing.My book manuscript looks at religious warfare and state collapse in early modern Europe. It is depressing.So some depressing-but-exciting escapism seems in order. Courtesy of YouTube: the 3rd Season BSG preview:I could've done without the background music.I've actually agonized about whether to pull this. Sometimes current events and the stark reality of actual warfare can make it difficult to enjoy, well, stories...

Two very interesting pieces by Robert Kaplan in the past two days.First, Kaplan reviews a new book by Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew. The book, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat, discusses the different methods, motivations, and goals of our primary adversaries in the GWOT. Why does it look good to me? Because they apparently take the honor, pride, and prestige motives of these actors serioulsy,...

I spent today at and around our soon-to-be-not home with my daughter. Revisions to my book manuscript have been moving along nicely, so I thought it would be a good idea to give my wife some relief. My daughter's not only, as she will proudly inform anyone who will listen, "two," but also manifesting anxiety about moving in all sorts of strange ways. My wife needs some serious downtime and work time.My daughter, unfortunately, decided that she...

Coalition soldiers have recaptured both towns taken by the Taliban over the weekend.This shouldn't come as much of a surprise When the Taliban can hold towns against combined Afghan and coalition forces, than we'llknow the future of Afghanistan is in serious jeopardy. The fact that they have enough operational capability to seize them in the first place is bad enough news.The Post also notes that the Afghan government is going to try again to...

From the Washington Post:Michael Golden, spokesman for Schaefer, said the comptroller was speaking "in this sort of verbal shorthand that those of us who have worked with him can understand." Schaefer eventually voted for the contract.What did Maryland's Comptroller say?"Oh, we don't worry about any of those things like money. Or illegals crossing the border. That's nothing. That's just a given. Oh, come on. Korea is another one. All of the...

Via Think Progress: Kristol Suggests People of Iran Would Embrace U.S. Attack, Triggering Regime ChangeLet's see, where did I hear that one before--oh wait, I got it--Bill Kristol!February 2nd, 2002:The larger question with respect to Iraq, as with Afghanistan, is what happens after the combat is concluded. The Iraqi opposition lacks the military strength of the Afghan Northern Alliance; however, it claims a political legitimacy that might even...

It would appear that many conservatives have finally grown weary enough of the administration’s approach to foreign policy that they are beginning to make themselves heard. I agree with them on the basic point—the Iraq campaign made the US weaker and demonstrates that everyday. From the Washington Post:“Conservatives complain that the United States is hunkered down in Iraq without enough troops or a strategy to crush the insurgency. They see...

Forgot to pass this along earlier. More good news.The Turkish army may move into northern Iraq if violence by Turkish-Kurdish guerrillas continues, officials said yesterday.Such a move could put Turkey on a collision course with the United States, which has repeatedly warned against unilateral action in Iraq.Actually, it isn't as grim as it seems.But the Turkish government is facing increasing domestic pressure to act after 15 soldiers, police...

The subject is strategic bombing, the backdrop the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.I am reminded that the spirit of Athens lives on. Melians of the world, beware.To be fair, not everyone there advocates "the strong do what they will and the weak do what they must." Some merely believe that if you fight on the side of providence, any action becomes legitimate. Nevertheless, as articulate a set of comments as I've ever seen.Filed as: just in...

It appears George Will has joined the dark side with his WaPo column this morning. Welcome to the world of sane policy analysis George.Filed as: George Will

[UPDATED]Laura Rozen points to a Ha'aretz story that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni indicates a willingness to accept a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon:peaking after a meeting with a United Nations delegation headed by special envoy Vijay Nambiar, Livni said that while Israel would prefer the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south of the country, "we will consider other solutions put forward." "If there is a need to strengthen the...