The New Republic

The chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Dan Halutz, the ramatkal, has resigned in advance of the report of the special commission studying why the Lebanon war ended so ... well, let's be generous ... ambiguously. Doubtless, other heads will fall. This is a time of testing for the IDF, and a time of clarification. The brass in the Israeli military had become haughty, leaving the mid-level officer class resentful and justifiably so. READ MORE >>

The United States helped found the World Bank in 1945. It was designed initially to aid in postwar reconstruction, but it has developed a focus on alleviating extreme poverty and encouraging development in the world's poorest countries. American officials did not conceive of the bank as a vehicle for carrying out a particular administration's foreign policy objectives. When Robert Macnamara left the Pentagon to become World Bank president in 1968, for instance, he did not use his tenure to advance the American war effort in Vietnam. READ MORE >>

A brief, off-topic post for DC-area residents: This morning I suffered what I imagine is a widespread annoyance. Driving into work, I was hectored by a large public-safety ad that jeered, "Hey Slick, email the office later. Negligent driving kills." The tone of the injunction, which strives to be hip but succeeds only in being snide, is bad enough, especially for the large majority of us who do not thumb Blackberries while driving (or dial cell phones or apply makeup, behaviors condemned by other ads in the series). READ MORE >>

"We need to cut through the confusion. Bringing security to Baghdad--the essential precondition for political compromise, national reconciliation and economic development--is possible only with a surge of at least 30,000 combat troops lasting 18 months or so. Any other option is likely to fail." --Frederick Kagan and Jack Keane, The Washington Post, 12/27/06 READ MORE >>

Probably the most interesting surge-related development on the right comes courtesy of Sam Brownback. Brownback, you'll recall, is the evangelical-cum-Catholic angling to become the conservative alternative to John McCain. Up until the last few months, he was a pretty reliable supporter of the war in Iraq. But he's since concluded that the war has taken a disastrous turn, and he's become more and more willing to call the administration on it. READ MORE >>

John Burns has a remarkable, chillingly good piece in today's Times. Tapes made years ago reveal Saddam Hussein discussing the use of chemical weapons against Kurdish Iraqis. Some excerpts: READ MORE >>

Well, here is a true and honorable reason to have been against the hanging of Saddam Hussein. Not just the "undignified" hanging but the hanging READ MORE >>

by Jacob T. Levy The New Year and new semester bustle seems to mean that two pieces of sad news haven't yet been widely circulated; no press releases from the home institutions yet, for example. Two of the most distinctive, iconoclastic, and influential voices in the American academy have been lost in the past few days: George Mason sociologist/political scientist READ MORE >>

One of the most outrageous developments surrounding tonight's Sugar Bowl in New Orleans--that is, other than the massively over-hyped Notre Dame's appearance in the game--is the event's corporate sponsor: Allstate. A report in the New Orleans Times-Picayune says Allstate will be airing a series of gauzy commercials welcoming people back to the city and claiming credit for its role in that effort. Which is interesting. READ MORE >>

Over at The Atlantic's website, Robert D. Kaplan has a short piece arguing that, in his words, "Ford has been our greatest contemporary ex-president." More Kaplan:   READ MORE >>