The din of politicians speechifying about the war, the faux moral posturing of opinion-makers who claim to speak in the name of 'the troops,' everything that Iraq has come to represent in the American imagination - it all melts away in the 115-degree heat. What's left is the machinery of a war that, having been called into being by civilians, no longer bears a relation to anything they say.
Lawrence KaplanI don't want to sound pompous, but I think it is important that when one makes arguments of consequence that he go and see what those consequences are. Having championed the war, I wanted to see the products of my own argument.
Lawrence KaplanIraqis don't trust one another, parties and ministries are run by sects and not by functionaries.
Lawrence KaplanThe dictionary has been in the making for several decades, and the result is well worth the wait. MacLean and those who worked with her have consulted with Iñupiaq speakers from across Alaska's North Slope to compile a comprehensive collection of word stems, along with postbases, grammatical endings, and an array of other valuable material. . . . This dictionary will prove fascinating for anyone interested in the Iñupiat and their language.
Lawrence Kaplan