Folks on both sides have written so much on Iraq that it’s hard to find anything very original. But I thought these two pieces, one deeply pessimistic and the other optimistic, were bracing and refreshing in their own ways. The pessimistic one is this review essay of books on Gertrude Bell in the NYRB. The up-beat one is this piece from Bartle Bull in the The Prospect. Meanwhile, in more pedestrian news, according to Reuters, the Iraq Interior Ministry says violence has dropped 70% since June.