Tag Archives: Iraq

The Political Challenge that is Irak

Posted on April 15, 2017 by William Holland

By any stretch, the last eight years was a disaster for U.S. Mesopotamian regional policy. Being handed a win in 2008, the Obama administration felt that its own ideological preference for appeasement was ratified, even though that policy sentiment was … Continue reading →

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Fallujah: Again!!

Posted on June 8, 2016 by William Holland

The retaking of Fallujah is nothing less than a total repudiation of the Obama doctrine. May 22, 2016 was the day Iraqi prime minister Haider al-abadi decided to call the American’s to strategize on how best to tackle the Sunni … Continue reading →

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US Policy in Iraq: Countering ISIS, Formal Policy Brief

Posted on July 31, 2014 by William Holland

While Nouri al-Maliki (a Shia) reels from being over-run by ISIS, its worth noting how he and The White House can formulate a coherent policy to bring Iraq back from the brink. Absent renewed ‘boots on the ground’, the only … Continue reading →

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Obama: Non-Performance Presidency, the Consequences

Posted on February 23, 2014 by William Holland

We should note that having a non-performing Presidency has consequences.  U.S. domestic policy isn’t where one looks to see its reverberations.   But those nations that have aligned with us whose internal political, social or geographic constitutions are unnaturally affiliated … Continue reading →

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Iraq: In Retrospect

Posted on March 23, 2013 by William Holland

The canard that Iraq was a poorly conceived, executed endeavor that proved harmful to strategic U.S. interests is an insight that may be historically if myopically correct, yet completely misplaced.  Gone is the mention of numerously failed U.N. Resolutions; Saddam … Continue reading →

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Hitting Syria To Envelop Persia

Posted on March 3, 2013 by William Holland

Both Daniel Pipes and Richard Pipes (no relation) remain the most significant intellectuals on Marxism and Islamism; I’ve always loved the intimate informed tone that animates the writings of Dr. Daniel Pipes, who resides as Chair of the Middle East … Continue reading →

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The Palestinian Spring

Posted on October 20, 2012 by William Holland

You’d think that the single most anticipated group of Arabs throughout the Near East expecting liberation are the Palestinians, especially given how they’re portrayed as victims of capricious Zionists.  Well according to Amir Taheri the French Persian expert, there is … Continue reading →

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Persian Designs In Mesopotamia

Posted on August 14, 2011 by William Holland

War and diplomacy is filled with role reversals, ironies, contrasts that are fit for Sophocles and Shakespeare, for the social and political impact of war is always unmanageable.  When the American’s established a Shia power grab after the fall of … Continue reading →

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Osama bin Laden: The Nemesis Of History

Posted on May 4, 2011 by William Holland

The death of Osama bin Laden ushers in an period of relief fit for Sophocles! It should surprise no one that violent revolutionaries are unfit to govern the impact of the means by which they rule.  This tale is well … Continue reading →

Posted in Arnold Toynbee, International Relations, Islam, Near East, Pakistan, Raymond Aron, Satan/Evil, Sun Tzu, Terrorism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Osama bin Laden: The Nemesis Of History

Defeating Edward Said & The Politics Of Partisan Passion

Posted on November 17, 2010 by William Holland

In the intervening years before the Bush administration committed political and national capital in promoting Democracy in Iraq through invasion, President Bush spent many personal hours with two distinct men, discussing Islam, Medieval Islam and the intrinsic cultural receptivity Islam … Continue reading →

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