Pullout Leads To Civil War Leads To Regional War Leads To...?
Published by BG on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 2:53 PM.I don't link the following to try to make a point larger than this: Although there are certainly voices in the pundit class attempting to tell us all the reasons why we shouldn't pull out of Iraq, a couple of things bear mentioning. First, no one knows exactly what's going to happen if we stay or if we go (which is another topic altogether), so take that punditry with a grain of salt. Second, if past performance is any indicator of future results, a large regional war in the Middle East is unlikely at best.
Matthew Yglesias (September 12, 2007) - Containing Iraq (Foreign Policy)
Again, I don't think I'm smart enough to tell you what's going to happen - but neither is Bill Kristol. Lots of opinions, lots of possibilities, but if history is any guide we don't have much to worry about in regards to armageddon in the Middle East if we leave Iraq.
According to Matt Yglesias, at least. I read Leon Uris' Exodus once, and I kinda dig Lebanese food, but that's as far as my foreign policy credentials extend.
Matthew Yglesias (September 12, 2007) - Containing Iraq (Foreign Policy)
Kevin Drum tries to throw some water on the "Middle East in Flames" theory holding that American withdrawal from Iraq will lead not only to a short-term intensification of fighting in Iraq, but also to some kind of broader regional conflagration. Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay, as usual sensible but several clicks to my right, also make this point briefly in Democracy: "Talk that Iraq’s troubles will trigger a regional war is overblown; none of the half-dozen civil wars the Middle East has witnessed over the past half-century led to a regional conflagration."
Again, I don't think I'm smart enough to tell you what's going to happen - but neither is Bill Kristol. Lots of opinions, lots of possibilities, but if history is any guide we don't have much to worry about in regards to armageddon in the Middle East if we leave Iraq.
According to Matt Yglesias, at least. I read Leon Uris' Exodus once, and I kinda dig Lebanese food, but that's as far as my foreign policy credentials extend.
Powered by ScribeFire.
