On this day when the country is supposed to be observing the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King Jr., Juan Cole has a great post about what Dr. King might have said we should do in Iraq. It is based on Dr. King’s “Beyond Vietnam” address of 1967. The same suggestions are just as relevant today, almost 40 years later. Here is a sample:

1. Martin urged the end of the offensive bombing raids.

‘ Number one: End all bombing in North and South Vietnam. ‘

The US has increased the number of its bombing raids in Iraq from 25 a month last summer to 150 in December. Bombing raids are very bad counter-insurgency tactics and should be rethought.

Go read Dr. Cole’s post for the rest. It definitely worthwhile. For those of you who don’t know of Dr. Cole, unlike virtually every so-called “Middle East Expert” you see on TV, Juan Cole is actually fluent in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. This means he can actually read original source material himself and he is actually familiar with the people there really think. If you want some actual rational, informed writing about the Middle East, follow Jaun Cole’s Blog.