From ‘shock and awe’ to ‘advise and assist’ in Iraq

August 20, 2010

On Thursday morning, local time in Iraq, the Fourth Stryker Brigade, Second Infantry Division, crossed into Kuwait — the last U.S. combat brigade to be pulled out of Iraq. The war that began seven years ago with the previous administration’s “shock and awe” ends now with the current administration’s mission to “advise and assist.” That is how President Obama describes the new role for the 50,000 American troops who will remain there until 2011.

You may hear those words, “advise and assist,” but you’re not likely to hear the word “victory” when officials talk about Iraq these days. To help us evaluate what’s been achieved, and what still hangs in the balance in Iraq, Need to Know talks with Middle East scholar and history professor at the University of Michigan, Juan Cole. He writes the widely read blog Informed Comment, and is author of “Engaging the Muslim World.”

Last modified: August 20, 2010 at 5:20 pm
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Comments

  • BJ

    Thanks for having Juan Cole on your program ..but.. I’m sorry to hear even “Need to Know” hosts refer to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq as the “war in Iraq”. This diminishes the sense of guilt that Americans should feel for wide-spread public ignorance of the Middle East allowed this debacle to occur.

  • http://www.juancole.com/2010/08/from-%e2%80%99shock-and-awe%e2%80%99-to-%e2%80%98advise-and-assist%e2%80%99-in-iraq.html From ’shock and awe’ to ‘advise and assist’ in Iraq | Informed Comment

    [...] appearance on the PBS current affairs show Need to Know this weekend with Alison Stewart is now available on the Web. I was discussing the present situation in [...]

  • http://www.arabnewsblog.net/2010/08/23/from-%e2%80%99shock-and-awe%e2%80%99-to-%e2%80%98advise-and-assist%e2%80%99-in-iraq/ Arab News Blog » From ’shock and awe’ to ‘advise and assist’ in Iraq

    [...] appearance on the PBS current affairs show Need to Know this weekend with Alison Stewart is now available on the Web. I was discussing the present situation in [...]

  • Gary Ogletree

    Juan Cole? This guy has long been discredited as a dishonest apologist for jihad and sharia. Better you should talk to Robert Spencer.

  • Wingo

    Uhm, no, Professor Cole hasn’t been discredited in any sense. Please don’t believe the lies of the neocons.