weekend reading grabbag

Catching up on some items worth reading that came out over the weekend:

From the Washington Post, For Marines, a Frustrating Fight: Some in Iraq Question How and Why War Is Being Waged

I have been trying to get the History Club to include "Dr. Strangelove" in their film series; this article from the the NY Times by Fred Kaplan might pique your interest, Truth Stranger Than 'Strangelove'

We have been discussing objectivity and post-modernism in Historical Methods lately. This article from the Washington Monthly last year by Joshua Micah Marshall brings some comtemporary relevance: The Post-Modern President: Deception, Denial, and Relativism: what the Bush administration learned from the French. Marshall hosts the blog Talking Points Memo, and here are his latest comments on the issue of epistemological relativism. Marshall also takes note of a possible October Surprise:

Hmmm. Karl Rove tells Sean Hannity about 'October Surprise' he's working on. "We've got a couple of surprises that we intend to spring," says Rove.

Several bloggers have taken note of this important article in the Los Angeles Times, Major Assaults on Hold Until After U.S. Vote: Attacks on Iraq's rebel-held cities will be delayed, officials say. But that could make it harder to allow wider, and more legitimate, Iraqi voting in January. Both Atrios and DeLong note how the decision making (as has happened several times before in this war) emanates from a White House concerned with reelection rather than military leaders concerned with victory. An excerpt:

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration plans to delay major assaults on rebel-held cities in Iraq until after U.S. elections in November, say administration officials, mindful that large-scale military offensives could affect the U.S. presidential race.

Although American commanders in Iraq have been buoyed by recent successes in insurgent-held towns such as Samarra and Tall Afar, administration and Pentagon officials say they will not try to retake cities such as Fallouja and Ramadi — where the insurgents' grip is strongest and U.S. military casualties could be the highest — until after Americans vote in what is likely to be an extremely close election.

"When this election's over, you'll see us move very vigorously," said one senior administration official involved in strategic planning, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Once you're past the election, it changes the political ramifications" of a large-scale offensive, the official said. "We're not on hold right now. We're just not as aggressive."

Any delay in pacifying Iraq's most troublesome cities, however, could alter the dynamics of a different election — the one in January, when Iraqis are to elect members of a national assembly.

With less than four months remaining, U.S. commanders are scrambling to enable voting in as many Iraqi cities as possible to shore up the poll's legitimacy.

U.S. officials point out that there have been no direct orders to commanders to halt operations in the weeks before the November 2 U.S. election. Top administration officials in Washington are simply reluctant to sign off on a major offensive in Iraq at the height of the political season.

Finally -- and I haven't read it yet -- there is a major article in the NY Times Magazine about John Kerry. Maybe I will post more after reading it.