Irony. It follows me everywhere.
Elizabeth just suggested that I read some books from Juan Cole’s recommended reading list. I don’t recall paying much attention to the name Juan Cole until yesterday. So Elizabeth pretty much introduced me to Juan Cole, Middle East affairs expert.
Today, in my web travels, I was re-introduced to Juan Cole, expert on recently deceased chopper of heads Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
From Iraqpundit:
In the wake of the news that Zarqawi had been killed, something that everybody on all sides agreed was accurate, Cole seem to have decided that previous to his death, Zarqawi must have existed after all. To mark this epiphany, the professor wrote this week that it didn’t matter. “There is no evidence of operational links between his Salafi Jihadis in Iraq and the real al-Qaeda; it was just a sort of branding that suited everyone, including the US. Official US spokesmen have all along over-estimated his importance. Leaders are significant and not always easily replaced. But Zarqawi has in my view has been less important than local Iraqi leaders and groups. I don’t expect the guerrilla war to subside any time soon.â€
Cole is correct in thinking the war won’t likely subside soon. However, what Cole seems to lack is any willingness to admit progress in Iraq. He also displays a deep seated hatred of all things Western. I could be wrong, but I’m sure I’ll be getting to know more about Mr. Cole and his beliefs as time goes on. We have a whole century of memewars ahead of us. Zarqawi doesn’t get to play, because he wanted to cut off heads instead of talking things through.
Everyone, to one extent or another, frames the world the way they want to picture it. What sort of frame do you look through?
It will be interesting to see what I think of some of the books from Juan’s recommendation list. I’ll try to see things through his frame before I draw my own conclusions.