From The New Yorker, inside the surge: The American military finds new allies, but at what cost? Who's the enemy? In Iraq, it's getting harder to find any bad guys. Let them in: Fred Kaplan on Bush's outrageous neglect of Iraqi refugees, and Daniel Byman on why we must welcome thousands of Iraqi refugees to the United States. What does Iraq cost? Even more than you think. The only question that matters: Do the benefits of staying in Iraq outweigh the costs? More on Curveball by Bob Drogin. A review of Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital by Dr. Heidi Squier Kraft. An interview with Kingsley Browne on why all women in the U.S. military should be out of Iraq. A review of Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence by Aliza Marcus. From Boston Review, pious Populist: Abbas Milani on understanding the rise of Iran's president. The last, best hope for averting a war with Iran lies with the United States military — we will be saved or doomed by our generals. Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann on how we are losing Afghanistan, one civilian at a time. Max Boot on sending the State Department to war: While maintaining military power remains important, even more crucial goals include flexing our diplomatic muscles to achieve vital objectives peacefully.
