From Great Britain, a look at the Top 10 most controversial ads. The great performer leaves the stage: A look at what Tony Blair did, and why he did it. Why do Brits dislike the departing prime minister? Geoffrey Wheatcroft investigates. Timothy Garton Ash on the lessons from Blair's three big mistakes. He made serious mistakes, and is one of the most controversial politicians of his generation, but also one of the most successful. His legacy to Great Britain will be immense. From Time, an interview with Gordon Brown.
Gaullist revolutionary Nicolas Sarkozy: Does France know the full implications of what it has voted for? (and more on his European plans). Anthony Giddens on how Sarkozy only has half the solution for France, but the French election could lead to a resurgence of Europe. Martin Wolf on why Sarkozy's triumph portends strife in Europe.
From Mother Jones, Putting Lipstick on a Dictator: Rogue states hire PR firms to change public perception and win audiences with American leaders. Whatever happened to old fashioned diplomacy? Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment looks at the future of Iranian-American relations, Iran's vulnerabilities, and whether we might one day see liberals ruling in Tehran. In a gruesome marriage of technology and medieval barbarity, an Internet video records the stoning death of a 17-year-old Kurdish girl. Welcome to the new Iraq.
Zugzwang, or, White to play and lose: Allen Quicke reports on a chess match being played in Baghdad between the forces of Good and Evil. From The Mises Institute, Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. on The War the Government Cannot Win. September will supposedly be the moment for a real, make-or-break verdict on Bush's surge and the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Don't bet on it. In Search of a Political Mission: Are the Democrats and Bushies playing good cop/bad cop with the Iraqis? America's Angriest General: Retired two-star Army Gen. John Batiste is lashing out at the Bush war in Iraq in ads targeting key Republicans up for re-election in 2008. His offensive may change the rules regarding civilian-military relations. From Stars & Stripes, a series of articles on training the Afghan military.
From Government Executive, a look at how intelligence agencies must decode a human capital crisis; the Army is developing the most expensive and complex weapons system in its history, but it's based on some very questionable concepts; but before accepting dire assessments of Army readiness, it's worth asking: Ready for what? House Democrats back down, but the military budget is as bloated as ever. The US Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer. Phillip Carter on on how the Army can regulate soldiers' blogs and letters—but it shouldn't. An interview with Paul Rieckhoff, author of Chasing Ghosts: Failures and Facades in Iraq: A Soldier’s Perspective.
From National Journal, officials from the White House and the Justice Department worked together to keep Congress from uncovering presidential adviser Karl Rove's part in installing one of his own protégés, Timothy Griffin, as a U.S. attorney in Arkansas. And on Karl Rove's big election-fraud hoax: Republican manipulation of the polls long predates the U.S. attorneys plot, and the US voting system needs an overhaul
