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Title: War skeptic overcome by sharp observations here
Review: I did not favor our invasion of Iraq, but The Foreigner's Gift gives me an appreciation of the nobility of our effort. To be sure the Bush administration was grossly incompetant in under-committing troups and resources to the task, a sign of its hubris and arrogance demonstrated also by their lack of postwar planning.Still, Ajami's alternating of on-the-ground description with analysis gives a picture of how unyielding this territory would be to any power, no matter how well-prepared.I am still rooting for America and also for the Iraqis to take hold of this opportunity to form a kinder society. Perversely, Ajami's book inspires hope in me. Despite all his description of the problems, and they are many and severe, there is power in naming things. Ajami names the problems. The scales have fallen from my eyes, now can they fall from the Iraqis?
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