Rory Stewart Says Forget The Cut, Just Run

Rory Stewart spoke at the University Bookstore on Monday courtesy of the World Affairs Council, which, frankly, we had never heard of before.

Rory Stewart is that cool guy who's written two bestselling books, walked 6,000 miles across central Asia, and served as Deputy Governor of two provinces of Iraq under the Coalition Provisional Authority. He's 33. What have you done with your life yet?

His most recent book, Prince of the Marshes, is about his Iraq experience. After reading a short passage, Stewart set the book aside and spoke about his views on the current situation in Iraq.

He recommended a radical solution to the increasing violence: immediate withdrawal. He justifies this recommendation with a scary and completely credible combination of pessimism and optimism. We haven't been able to import stability and rule of law anywhere else in the world, and there's no reason to believe we can do it in Iraq. And the Iraqi politicians and military are much more capable and ready to assume control and work out deals, if only we would stop getting in their way.

It was hard to tell if Stewart was simply a realist or if he was deeply disillusioned. Either way, it was intense.