Historical analogies are always good ways to tickle one’s brain. They are useful analytical tools as well: trying to compare and contrast similarities and differences is a great way to uncover things one might have otherwise missed. The Asia Times ran an interesting essay by an Italian journalist comparing the rise of Germany on the 19th century to the rise of China in the 20th. I had a great time thinking about the rise of the US and the rise of China as well. Both analogies are intriguing but also highly misleading. The US attitude toward China is profoundly different from the British attitude toward Germany.
A very upbeat article on the state of the world in the Christian Science Monitor. A good read, but only with a critical eye. The points made are worthy of attention; they may be, however, only part of the picture.
The situation in Iraq remains volatile. Sadr is a very powerful voice in Iraq, but a complex one. He is intensely nationalistic–adamantly opposed to the US, but also opposed to the Iranian influence in Iraq (although he is a Shia cleric). In some sense he is both a powerful enemy of the US, but also a powerful ally to the American interest in curtailing Iranian influence in the Middle East. We’ll have to see how the US navigates this setback/opportunity.
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