abu muqawama

I don't know if either of my readers has discovered the abu muqawama blog, which is written by current and former US military/DoD people and covers Iraq, Afghanistan, and other military issues with a full dose of snark and a refreshing lack of bullshit. I don't always agree with them, but their take is invaluable in understanding what's going on inside the US military structure.

This article from earlier in the week is a fine example:

At the core of American exceptionalism is a paradox of uniqueness and universality. The American national mythology holds that the United States is simultaneously unique, in the sense of being the first (and perhaps the best) modern liberal democracy, yet also universal, in the sense of representing the "true" aspirations of all humanity. This sense of exceptionalism produces an historical tendency to try to spread the American model around the globe. But there is a longstanding debate going back to the founding of our union about the appropriate means to do so. Should America seek to remake the world by serving as a shining example of its highest ideals (the "exemplarist" approach), or should we more actively intervene to remake the world in our image (the "progressive imperialist" approach)?

go read the whole thing.