hindsight (doesn't improve everyone's vision)

the 5th anniversary: reflections on the invasion of and war in Iraq
RAND: (HT to new Insurgency Group Blog at King's College)
Slate: an ex-Army captain
Slate: Fred Kaplan
"The disastrous consequences that have been unfolding plainly over the past five years are not "side effects" of this war but rather the direct, head-on results."
Newsweek: the debate over what kind of future wars to prepare for
Salon: Juan Cole
Ind: the British legacy in Basra
"a dark and forbidding place of militias"
Gdn: Bush
shocker: "President George Bush showed no sign of regret today when he marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by declaring that the costs in terms of lives and upheaval had been worth it and that retreat would threaten both security and the world economy...In words addressed to Clinton and Obama, he said: 'The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable – yet some in Washington still call for retreat. War critics can no longer credibly argue that we are losing in Iraq – so now they argue the war costs too much. In recent months we have heard exaggerated estimates of the costs of this war.'" !!!
Gdn: what are the estimated "costs" in terms of lives?
"There is no shortage of estimates, but they vary enormously. The Iraqi ministry of health initially tried to keep a count based on morgue records but then stopped releasing figures under pressure from the US-supported government in the Green Zone."
Gdn: stolen antiquities funding Al-Qaeda

Gdn: McCain thinks that Iran is funding Al-Qaeda; if it weren't so remarkably off-base, SV would be reminded of bogus claims linking Al-Qaeda and Hussein to justify war

BBC: US Marine tried for murder of unarmed detainnee

SWJ: (video) President Kennedy's speech to 1962 West Point class

other news
LAT: first woman speaker nominated in Pakistan
BBC: UN peace force considered for Somalia
BBC: Gurkas protest for citizenship rights in Britain
BBC: UN suggests riots in Kosovo organized by Serbia
Newsweek: slavery in Malaysia

Slate: US Supreme Court on its way to affirming Americans' (individual) right to bear arms

NYT: Obama's speech