Galbraith (The End of Iraq
) surveys the occupation in its fifthyear with a withering eye and strong words for optimists who regard the “surge” as a road to victory (“Less violence is not the same as winning”). The author efficiently retraces the strategic failures and what he views as the perilous arrogance of the Bush administration, arguing that the war has achieved the opposite of many of its stated objectives: Israel is not safer and Middle Eastern regimes seem still to be moving in an antidemocratic direction. Galbraith admits that his mind has been changed on one or two tactical points—he previously advocated for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops; now, given the change in circumstances on the ground, “Baghdad is one of the last places from which the U.S. should withdraw.” The author flexes his intellectual muscle in a provocative discussion of a possible Iraqi “three-state-solution,” whereby the country would be divided by ethnic group—an extreme measure that he believes might stabilize the region. (Oct.)
