This view from outside the circle of US big corporate media provides a more acid etched mural of the neo-con debacle in US colonial Iraq. It gives the gift to see ourselves as others see us.

Good journalism: well-sourced, temperate tone, clear as a bell, no wasted words.

Chock full of sources, this piece provides a rare dose of reality in a seemingly Administration driven media environment. The implications are dire for the incoming administration (and party) regardless of who's in charge.

There's some good content in this piece, but overall I take issue with the conclusions Rogers draws. Information about the infrastructure the US has built in Iraq is good to know, but doesn't obviously suggest the US is there to stay. It does not consider motive (Why would the US stay?), political dynamic in the US (Democrats are running on a platform of pulling out eventually), nor Iraqi interests. Also, his snapshot of an uptick in violence in Iraq is unfair. One month's data isn't a useful sample set for a war that has lasted almost 60 months.