Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

CNAS conference hits (Part IV): But Lynch surprisingly optimistic on Iraq

Readers of this blog know I am mighty pessimistic about Iraq. I think that Ambassador Crocker’s 2008 observation, that the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered have not yet happened, still holds true. So I was surprised to hear Marc Lynch pretty optimistic. He said it was possible that we could see ...

553395_090102_Lynch_Head_Shot2.jpg
553395_090102_Lynch_Head_Shot2.jpg

Readers of this blog know I am mighty pessimistic about Iraq. I think that Ambassador Crocker's 2008 observation, that the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered have not yet happened, still holds true.

Readers of this blog know I am mighty pessimistic about Iraq. I think that Ambassador Crocker’s 2008 observation, that the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered have not yet happened, still holds true.

So I was surprised to hear Marc Lynch pretty optimistic. He said it was possible that we could see Iraq emerge as a major voice in the Middle East. I don’t see it. But he knows far more about the Arab world than I do.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tag: Iraq

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