250 killed In Major Iraq Battle

    From The New York Times

By DAMIEN CAVE   January 29,2007

An American helicopter was shot down in fighting near Najaf between gunmen and Iraqi forces backed by U.S. firepower.

The Article

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Iranian Reveals Plan to Expand Role in Iraq

By JAMES GLANZ  From   NYT

Published: January 29, 2007

BAGHDAD, Jan. 28 — Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad outlined an ambitious plan on Sunday to greatly expand its economic and military ties with Iraq — including an Iranian national bank branch in the heart of the capital — just as the Bush administration has been warning the Iranians to stop meddling in Iraqi affairs.     The Article

 

Technorati tags: Iraqis, War, Iran

 

Twisting Arms In War Does Not Work

    Here is an interesting study if wars that the major powers have been involved in since World War 2.

Political scientist Patricia Sullivan recently decided to take a different tack than the political pundits.

Her findings will probably surprise you -- and would make for sober reading at the White House: Although the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China were militarily superior to their opponents in every one of the 122 conflicts that Sullivan studied, these powerful countries failed to win an astonishing 39 percent of their wars against weaker opponents.            WaPo for more

    This study shows that when it comes to trying to force other countries into doing it your way, the U.S. and other bigger powers, have a dismal success rate.