What We're Reading

Patrick Fitzgerald

"Obama's Iraq Problem," by George Packer in the New Yorker. Packer, whose 2005 book Assassin's Gate is the best I've read on Iraq, offers the prospective Democratic nominee some sage advice on how to deal with the signs of stability coming from Baghdad. In order to avoid looking "outdated and out of touch," Packer advises Obama to focus on the future, finding "an honorable way to end" a war that never should have started in the first place.

Blake Hounshell

Oxford International Review, once a journal exclusively available to the global elite, has opened up its subscription model and now even has a group blog focused on sovereign wealth funds. Amid all the hype about SWFs, it's good to see some independent, objective research such as OIR's look at what Chinese commentators are saying about the $200 billion China Investment Corporation.

Katie Hunter

"Putin's Labyrinth," a look into the Russian leader's web of power and diabolical dealings by Businessweek correspondent Steve Levine. From the Second Chechen war to the poisoning of former KGB agent Alexander Livitikenko, Levine investigates Putin's ties to all the shady and shameful dealings that have taken place since the Yeltsin years.

Joshua Keating

"Barack's Pilgrimage," by Gershom Gorenberg in the American Prospect. The recent FP contributor has some ideas for what Barack Obama ought to see when he visits Israel, if only security concerns, political correctness, and electoral politics did not exist.

Carolyn O'Hara

"China’s Guerrilla War for the Web," (sub. req'd) by David Bandurski in the new issue of Far Eastern Economic Review. Bandurski provides a fascinating glimpse at the tens of thousands of Chinese Web users who, trained and financed by the CCP, form commentary teams to "guide" public opinion in chat rooms and forums.