I'm back... at least until my DSL service cuts out again. Or I leave for APSA. Whichever comes first.I've been able to get online long enough to read, among other things, Timothy Garton Ashs' essay, "Stagger on, weary Titan" (via Anne-Marie Slaughter).In the American case, it's a result of the unexpectedly protracted, bloody and costly Iraq war, in which a small group of foreign insurgents defies the mightiest military the world has seen; concern about the rising economic power of China and India; and a combination of imperial overstretch with socio-economic problems at home.Ash's essay is...

George W. Bush is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (MBA, 1975). I wonder if they taught him about sunk costs? Sunk costs are unrecoverable past expenditures. These should not normally be taken into account when determining whether to continue a project or abandon it, because they cannot be recovered either way. It is a common instinct to count them, however.There's certainly good evidence to believe that Bush does not understand the concept.President Bush, August 22, 2005: We have lost 1,864 members of our Armed Forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 223 in Operation Enduring...

Soon, the cost of the Iraq war in dollars is going to exceed 200 billion.With debate about the future of Iraq heating up, this might be a good time to point out that this cost to America is directly attributable to the Bush administration's unilateralism. Moreover, though it is difficult to know with certainty, much greater global backing might have facilitated the difficult jobs of rebuilding post-war and post-occupation Iraq.The first Persian Gulf War, by way of comparison, was very cheap for the US because is was largely financed by allied states -- who agreed with the war and the UN...

My university started classes Monday and I teach two classes on Tuesday.As I've mentioned before, I'm teaching American Foreign Policy and International Security this term. Note: those course descriptions pre-date my arrival (1991).I don't have any links to the syllabi (yet), but they should eventually appear here. Then again, my university uses Blackboard, which is easy to use and requires a password; thus, I may not bother to post the syllabi on the web.In any case, those interested in some non-textbook readings in these areas might want to check out these two blogs I've created for the...

Iraq is not Vietnam. However, the political debate about Vietnam presents a number of valuable lessons that war opponents should be learning. Fast, as in before the 2008 presidential election process starts in earnest. Since candidates are already coming forward to fill what will almost certainly be an open seat (unless Dick Cheney has filled it for some reason), this means war opponents need to act now. Anti-war activists have great difficulty convincing the majority of Americans that the US should simply abandon Iraq. Even those who opposed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq are now reluctant...

Last night, I viewed the disturbing documentary about Fox News, "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism." If you haven't seen it, I recommend that you do. Indeed, watch it as part of a double feature with "Control Room," the documentary about Arabic network, al-Jazeera. Frankly, after seeing both films, I'd rather my cable company carry al-Jazeera than Fox News Channel.This week, I'm hard at work on my syllabi for this fall's classes, which begin for me next Tuesday. While viewing "Outfoxed," I kept wondering if it would be acceptable to show it during classtime for the section on...

Jim Hu of blogs for industry is putting together a "virtual faculty club" that includes a useful "Virtual College of Liberal Arts." He apparently only includes regular faculty members who use their real names, so grad students like Bill Petti are not included.The Political Science faculty, however, includes the other Duck of Minerva bloggers. And many more.Filed as: Virtual Faculty Club

Cross-posted on my blog.Much of blogtopia has been talking about the sobering article by Robin Wright and Ellen Knickmeyer in Sunday's Washington Post. I don't have time to comment right now -- the kids actually start school Tuesday (!) -- but the piece is definitely worth a complete read. The title accurately sums up the story: "U.S. Lowers Sights On What Can Be Achieved in Iraq." Here are the first few paragraphs:The Bush administration is significantly lowering expectations of what can be achieved in Iraq, recognizing that the United States will have to settle for far less progress than...