Dead Man Slamming: Notes on the Death of Salesman Chalabi

Whether it's Ahmad Chalabi in Iraq or Bernard-Henri Levy in Libya, history occasionally throws up these men impassioned with the righteousness of their cause, who have banged the drums of war.

Moqtada al-Sadr and Pentagon concur: It’s the wrong name at the wrong time

You know you’re in trouble when firebrand Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr thinks your operation codename is…well, a bit too firebrand Shiite for his taste.
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Ignoring the Syrian side of the Sykes-Picot line

ISIS delivers a multilingual, postcolonial, post-national, proto-caliphate jihadist message to beat all prior propaganda ploys. So, why are we divorcing Iraq from Syria? And why do we always ignore a battlefield to rush into Iraq?

Maliki’s wrong: ISIS is so rich, it doesn’t need Saudi money

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has blamed Saudi Arabia for funding Islamists. But ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria) is also a threat to the Saudis and for once, Saudi money does not talk.

The End of Paternalism: Assessing the “Arab Spring” Three Years On

From its inception, the expression “Arab Spring” always appeared to be on rhetorically weak ground.