Word: polks
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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McGovern and Polk are decent historians—some readers will enjoy reading their quick, yet reasonably detailed, history of Iraq—and they certainly write clearly and expressively. The problem is that the book—like the administration it criticizes—promises one thing and delivers another...
...short plan contained in “Out of Iraq” does have its provocative parts. McGovern and Polk call for releasing all prisoners of war and closing of all detention centers, withdrawing American forces from the Green Zone, and allowing the Iraqi government to void petroleum contracts signed by the American-run government. But the plan quickly slides into clichés, advocating such things as more funding for Iraqi civil society, more humanitarian assistance, and a greater role for intergovernmental institutions...
More than anything, McGovern and Polk call for a better handling of Iraq’s reconstruction, saying that the U.S. should model its efforts on the rebuilding of Germany after World War II. Not only do the authors fail to provide any meaningful guidance on how Iraq can be rebuilt in the midst of a civil war, they devote only three pages of text to reconstruction, which, as in 2003, just doesn’t seem to be a sexy topic...
Perhaps the only way that the occupation can be brought to a close is through a change in the American administration. It seems, then, that the same problem that plagued Senator John F. Kerry in 2004 plagues McGovern and Polk: It’s hard to articulate in plan form exactly how to manage Iraq differently...
...Reviewer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu. Out of Iraq By George McGovern and William R. Polk '51 Simon & Schuster...