Sunday War Reading

Antique-Corkscrews

Because one edition wasn’t enough this week…

Stopping an Awakening in Iraq Before it Can Start,” – David Ignatius draws upon WOTR’s Craig Whiteside to tease out the difficulties facing any U.S. sponsored efforts to restart the Awakening movement – anti-jihadist Sunni militias that were crucial to rolling back Al Qaeda in Iraq during the surge.

The Realist Creed,” – Robert Kaplan reflects on the essence and lessons of realism: “Why is realism timeless and yet reviled at the same time? Because realism tells the bitterest truths that not everyone wants to hear.”

Winning on Strategic Landpower – Robert Bunker and John Deni won first and second place respectively in the Elihu Root Prize, an annual award by the US Army War College for the best article (or articles) published in Parameters on the topic of Strategic Landpower. Read Robert Bunker’s winning article, “Defeating Violent Nonstate Actors,” and John Deni’s “Strategic Landpower in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.” Congrats to them both!

“The Myth of the Caliphate,” – You must read this elegant essay by Nick Danforth: “The caliphate’s more recent history under the Ottomans shows why the institution might be better thought of as a political fantasy—a blank slate just as nebulous as the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’—that contemporary Islamists are largely making up as they go along.”

A Blizzard, a Bottle & No Corkscrew,” – Read this fun post by Rachel at Clō Wines, my favorite new wine blog. The title gives it away, but our intrepid heroes are trapped and thirsty. They use a screw, a hammer, and sheer force of will to open a bottle of wine. Video included.

 

Ryan Evans is the Editor-in-Chief of War on the Rocks.