Friday, October 20, 2006

TNR personnel move

The Washington-based New Republic has apparently parted ways with one of its most outspoken critics of the Iraq war, Spencer Ackerman, former author of TNR's blog "Iraq'd." (Here's where Ackerman makes the announcement and here are some additional comments from a friend, fellow junior pundit Matthew Yglesias.)

Ackerman doesn't say much about the cause of his departure, except to say that the "ostensible reason" is some sort of clash with his editors, while the actual reason has more to do with divergent ideologies. Yglesias, however, does a wink-wink, nudge-nudge routine, while gesturing emphatically at Marty Peretz, TNR's editor in chief and part owner.

On what issues might there have been conflict? Ackerman is the rare -- if not the only -- TNR scribe to voice the view that American withdrawal from Iraq might reduce the carnage there and amount to a step forward in the war on terror. Then there's Joe Lieberman. Peretz has written that if Lieberman wins his race, or "more important, if Ned Lamont loses it and loses it decisively, meaningfully--there will be real reason for reasonable people to celebrate."

Ackerman, meanwhile, wrote in the American Prospect, a rival magazine to TNR's left, that Lieberman has been "reality-averse" in his analysis of Iraq and the GWOT. "Perhaps the most surprising thing about Lieberman's defense record," he wrote, "is the difficulty of defining Liebermanism. On the central question of why a nation should or shouldn't go to war, Lieberman's answer is simply, 'yes!'"

Since TNR's advocacy of the war in Iraq has been a sore point with many liberals, this staffing move is likely to get more attention than it otherwise would. (Full disclosure: Peretz bashes a Globe editorial here.)

Posted by Christopher Shea at 02:54 PM

Print | E-mail to a friend | Permalink | Subscribe via rss