Two Articles in "Foreign Affairs"

Foreign Affairs, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, proves yet again with two articles in this month's edition that it should be mandatory reading for anyone who enjoys serious discussion of foreign policy and national security issues. If you propose to be interested in either and don't read Foreign Affairs...well, start now, and start with two articles I'll mention briefly here. First we have Stephen Biddle on how the lessons of Vietnam are not applicable to Iraq, as well as what he think we should be doing over there. I think he's right on target, and his article should be read by both critics and supporters of our continued engagement in Iraq. We also have an article on intelligence policy and the war in Iraq, in which the author discusses the none-too-controversial proposition at this point that the Bush administration "skewed" intelligence as they saw fit to get public support for the invasion. The difference between the countless op-eds you've read that say the same thing and this article is that it's author, Paul Pillar, served as the National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia from 2000 to 2005, and was in the middle of the thick of the skewing while it was going on.

I'll come back to these articles when I have more time, as I have things to say about both. But for now read-up and learn a little.