World Affairs Quiz: Where have 20,000 people been killed in the past few months? (w poll)

Comments

1. edgarthearmenian says

   July 2, 2009 at 10:16 pm

   re Russia.

2. bob-neer says

   July 2, 2009 at 11:37 pm

   Kaplan may be convinced he is the smartest man in the world, I’ll give you that. In general, however, his ramblings are superficialities based on a few quick observations and little real understanding, in my opinion. His confident assertions about Sri Lanka, drawn from a short visit to one of the world’s most ancient societies and summing it up as a new Cold War battlefield, are a case in point. A few comments about Mr. Kaplan one does well to bear in mind (you can find other views at the link):

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   p>

   “Kaplan, over his career, appears to have become someone who is too fond of war. “It could be said,” he has written, “that occasional small wars and occupations are good for us.” He’s expanded on this topic: those “occasional wars” are “evidence of humanity.” This is because “peaceful times are also superficial times.”” — David Lipsky

   “If Kaplan is a romantic, he is also a populist and a reactionary.” — Andrew J. Bacevich

   “This is breathtaking. Here is a serious writer in 2005 admiring the Indian wars, which in their brutality brought about the end of an entire American civilization.” — David Rieff

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   p>The thinking man’s neocon.

   • edgarthearmenian says

     July 3, 2009 at 3:23 pm

     P.J. O’Roarke (Give War a Chance)either?

   • joeltpatterson says

     July 4, 2009 at 10:01 pm

     Before the Iraq War, he advocated for it along with Paul Wolfowitz and Fareed Zakaria, and then, when it became unpopular, Kaplan was smart enough to whitewash the account of his pro-war stance.  That’s smart.  That’s how you play the game… with the lives of American soldiers and Marines.

     • mr-lynne says

       July 4, 2009 at 10:17 pm

       … link when this post first went up.  Thanks.