Stephen Biddle
Stephen Biddle
Stephen D. Biddle is an American author, historian, policy analyst and columnist whose work concentrates on U.S. foreign policy. Currently, he is a Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at the George Washington University. He is perhaps best known for his award-winning 2004 book Military Power: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern Battle, published through Princeton University Press. He also has worked in groups under Generals Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus...
ProfessionHistorian
Date of Birth19 January 1959
afford fixed perfect size
They say we have to be perfect at everything at the same time. We can't afford to be perfect at everything.... There's a fixed size of the pie.
hardware solved threat
Most of us overemphasize hardware over software. The IED threat is going to be solved tactically.
conflict longer nature stay
Unfortunately the nature of this conflict is that we're going to have to stay there longer than we would like.
communal conflict fighting fights-and-fighting forces insurgents local needed responsibility threatens turning undermine
Turning over the responsibility for fighting the insurgents to local forces . . . threatens to exacerbate the communal tensions that underlie the conflict and undermine the power-sharing negotiations needed to end it.
good hope
There are some Americans out there who would like to hope that something good can come out of this.
although easily fought intensity iraqis low wrong
Although it is being fought at low intensity for now, it could easily escalate if Americans and Iraqis make the wrong choices.
control foreign general good policy
I think it is probably a good general description of American foreign policy that we don't have as much control as we think we do.
loyal means player scene states united united-states
Removing the United States from the scene means eliminating the player most loyal to the idea of a stable, heterogeneous Iraq.
army army-and-navy force militia perceive police
Iraq's Sunnis perceive the 'national' army and police force as a Shiite-Kurdish militia on steroids.