archive

Eastern Europe, Iraq and American politics

From 2000, Csaba Gombár explains why, as an eastern European, he could only take the western countercultural "revolution" seriously in retrospect and why contemporary societies don't share the Enlightenment's belief in radical progress (and part 2). A better tomorrow? Bosnia is yet to throw off the horrors of its past. But the citizens, especially youngsters, seem ready to embrace a new future. From Sodobnost, portrait of a moment in the life of a nation: A decade and a half after Slovenia's declaration of independence, political and cultural life in the country is stagnating. A moderate sense of national spirit and collective self-love may be the only way forward. Peripheries and borders in a post-western Europe: Europe is taking not just a post-national form, but also a post-western shape.

From Prospect, Leaving Baghdad The al-Hayalis were set to join the hundreds of thousands of middle-class families who have fled Iraq since the invasion. Just before their departure, calamity struck. From LRB, Burn Rate: Ed Harriman writes about making money and losing ground in Iraq. A review of Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. From The American Conservative, The Surge That Failed: Six months of Bush’s new strategy hasn’t made Iraq safer or more stable. Sorry, Mr. President, You're All Out of Troops: But maybe France can help solve the Iraq mess. Which Iraq War do you want to end? We're fighting at least three of them. Juan Cole on Bush: In the footsteps of Napoleon

Is the president imploding? His aides are jumping ship, his inner circle is torn apart by feuds and his orders are being ignored. Bush has 17 months left in the White House, but he is now a rudderless leader. The resignation of Alberto Gonzales has brought a smile to the faces of many Bush Administration critics, but will it bring real change? A New Agenda for Justice: Here are 10 priorities that would help the next attorney general guide the department back on course. Cass Sunstein on how to prevent another disastrous Attorney General. Benjamin Wittes on cleaning up Gonzales's mess. Gonzales quits, but plenty of Bush's loyal losers hang on: A look at The Unqualified, the Unscrupulous, and the Bush White House. All the President's Flunkies: Why Bush stands by his incompetents.