Deconstructing the Conventional Wisdom on Basra, Maliki, and Sadr
Remember the Iraqi government’s Basra offensive, launched a month ago and quickly declared a failure by an overwhelming majority of the talk show and editorial commentators? “Basra Blunder” was the headline of a column that received wide distribution; the column described Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as an inept, impulsive figure “in way over his head.”
Today, Maliki and Iraqis in general have earned the right to sneer at such instant and shallow media negativism, for Knights Charge (code name for the anti-Shia gang offensive in Basra and southern Iraq) is proving to be an extraordinarily significant political and military operation with rather heady long-term payoffs.
“Instant and shallow media negativism.” That’s hitting the nail on the head. Read the whole thing.
