Gause: Maliki's bid to be the strong man

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Continuing the roster of pinch-hitters for the first week of the semester, I'm happy to post an argument made by Gregory Gause of the University of Vermont which has generated a great deal of discussion on at least two different Iraq focused list-serves and deserves a wider airing. Here it is. I hope to resume my own posting soon, perhaps even with some thoughts on this piece.
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Guest Post: Maliki's Bid to be the Strong Man of Iraq
Gregory Gause, University of Vermont
The recent moves by Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki on a number of fronts seem to me to add up to a very ambitious push on Maliki's part to become the strong man of Iraqi politics."
Abu Aardvark