Sunday, December 03, 2006

F. Gregory Gause, III on the US in Iraq

Okay, then.

It takes about twelve minutes, but to keep informed about developments in the Levant this interview is a must-listen. The link is from John Burgess. Totally credible source. If he says it's important, then it's important.

Professor Gause of the University of Vermont speaks his mind in a very candid and clear phone interview that explains some of the intricacies of the mess we have managed to get tangled up with in Iraq.

He's not arguing and neither am I. It is plain that the consequences of a rapid US withdrawal from Iraq has regional implications to which most people, both supporters and opponents of the occupation, do not give enough weight.

Surprise! The price of oil is on the list.

So, too, is thinly-veiled blackmail on the part of the Saudis to put their money where their arms aren't but others are: Sunni militias and the like.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do keep in mind that the Saudi gov't has repudiated Obaid's Op-Ed.

What Obaid wrote is certainly a rational putting together of the different pieces of a puzzle. It's not necessarily the only one.

None of the others looks particularly good either, though.

Hoots said...

Thanks for pointing that out. I saw the other report but decided my readership probably wouldn't pay attention. My post was intended mainly to point the breadth of the challenge we face in Iraq.

I still run into soundbite ignorance more than anything resembling intelligent analysis. Otherwise intelligent pundits even seem to be more interested in appearing clever than offering constructive analysis. What a mess!