Time to Update the Website

You won't be surprised to learn that I'm not super-impressed by the US Institute of Peace's plan to end American military involvement in Iraq in five years. The release did, however, pique my curiosity about the USIP board. The only name I recognized was of the late Seymour Martin Lipset, who was a great political sociologist before dying last year.

Comments

Chester Crocker: Former State Dept. diplomat who focused on Africa in his writings. Former Assistant Sec. of State for African Affairs. Leans conservative ( I would guess certainly republican) but I dunno if he is a Neo-con ("Flathead") or not.....he is certainly the kind of person in the "village" who has rolled over and played dead for Dick Cheney et.al. for the last seven years however...

Posted by matt | September 8, 2007 11:18 PM

The linked article is a WaPo classic, vintage 2003. One paragraph begins: "With recent security improvements, the biggest problem facing the Bush administration and Iraq is the failure of politicians in Baghdad to reconcile Sunni and Shiite factions..."

This is exactly the kind of regurgitated conventional wisdom we can expect after Petraeus (read: the White House) lays his report on Congress and the rest of us. The "security improvements" are assumed, as is a more generalized "progress" resulting from the surge. Robin Wright doesn't deign to do a reality-based analysis of her subject.

If a capable reporter like Wright is willing to make such unexamined assumptions, we can't expect much better from her colleagues. At least she could acknowledge there is a serious dispute about the extent of the assumed "progress."

Posted by Geaghan | September 9, 2007 12:03 AM

I think Crocker and Horner were both once Moynihan staffers. Barbara Snelling is the wife of a former governor of Vermont (who died in office) and was replaced by Howard Dean. Holly Burkhalter is best known for her work at Human Rights Watch.

Posted by Ben Brackley | September 9, 2007 12:30 AM

Sorry to Matt defenders here, but there is just no reason to quote OBL. There are hundreds of credible people making the same argument so why the need to quote the man who planned the murder 3,500 Americans.

All I can think of is that Matt is being a publicity whore, hoping to stir up outrage and get traffic to his blog.

Posted by Dave | September 9, 2007 2:14 AM

Not on the USIP board, but recently hired as a VP, Steven Heydemann is a very skilled Middle East specialist and brillant Political Scientist. Heydemann however is an exception in the DC think tank business. Take for example the three principle "ME experts" at Brookings: Pollack, Indyk, and Wittes. They don't speak Arabic, hardly publish in peer reviewed journals, and are virtually unknown to social scientists who actually live and conduct research in the region.

Posted by Pete Moore | September 9, 2007 1:44 PM