Iraq::Articles

Iraq: Will We Ever Get Out?
Thomas Powers
New York Review of Books - May, 2008
In Iraq and Afghanistan alike the Americans have been trying to establish a government of convenience--friendly to the West, moderate in politics, predictable in business, open to peace with Israel, hostile to Islamic fundamentalists. The United States has been trying to establish such governments in the Middle East for sixty years.
Iraq After the Surge I: The New Sunni Landscape
International Crisis Group - April, 2008
In the U.S., much of the debate has focused on whether to maintain or withdraw troops. But this puts the question the wrong way, and spawns misguided answers. The issue, rather, should be whether the U.S. is pursuing a policy that, by laying the foundations of legitimate, functional institutions and rules of the game, will minimize the costs to itself, the Iraqi people and regional stability of a withdrawal that sooner or later must occur - or whether it is simply postponing a scenario of Iraq's collapse into a failed and fragmented state, protracted and multilayered violence, as well as increased foreign meddling.
Iraq after the Surge II: The Need for a New Political Strategy
International Crisis Group - April, 2008
But on their own, without an overarching strategy for Iraq and the region, these tactical victories cannot turn into lasting success. The mood among Sunnis could alter. The turn against al-Qaeda in Iraq is not necessarily the end of the story. While some tribal chiefs, left in the cold after Saddam's fall, found in the U.S. a new patron ready and able to provide resources, this hardly equates with a genuine, durable trend toward Sunni Arab acceptance of the political process. For these chiefs, as for the former insurgents, it mainly is a tactical alliance, forged to confront an immediate enemy (al-Qaeda in Iraq) or the central one (Iran).
The New Walls of Baghdad
Steve Niva
Foreign Policy in Focus - April, 2008
The new "surge" strategy in Iraq, led by General David Petreaus, has been heavily marketed as an example of the U.S. military's application of the "lessons of history" from previous counterinsurgencies to Iraq, foremost among them the need to win the population over from insurgents through cultivating human relationships, addressing popular grievances and providing security
Uprooted and Unstable: Meeting Urgent Humanitarian Needs in Iraq
Refugees International
- April, 2008
Uprooted and Unstable: Meeting Urgent Humanitarian Needs in Iraq describes a vacuum of humanitarian assistance created by the failure of the Iraqi government and the international community to administer aid to civilians. During a mission inside Iraq, researchers for Refugees International found that Iraqi militias are creating a Hezbollah-like dynamic by becoming major humanitarian providers of food, clothing, oil and other basic resources.
Choosing War: The Decision to Invade Iraq and Its Aftermath
Joseph J. Collins
National Defense University - April, 2008
As this case study is being written, despite impressive progress in security during the surge, the outcome of the war is in doubt. Strong majorities of both Iraqis and Americans favor some sort of U.S. withdrawal. Intelligence analysts, however, remind us that the only thing worse than an Iraq with an American army may be an Iraq after the rapid withdrawal of that army.
The Price of the Surge: How U.S. Strategy Is Hastening Iraq's Demise
Steve Simon
Foreign Affairs - April, 2008
The continued nurturing of tribalism in Iraq, in a way that sustains tribes in opposition to the central government rather than folding them into it, will bring about an Iraqi state that suffers from the same instability and violence as Yemen and Pakistan. U.S. officials in Iraq have taken note of how the current U.S. approach has exacerbated the dangers of tribalism. Last month, a senior U.S. military adviser conceded, "We're not thinking through the impact of abetting further corruption and perpetuating tribal power."
Petraeus-Crocker Hearing: Political Theater on Message
Phyllis Bennis
Foreign Policy in Focus - April, 2008
Thinking Strategically about Iraq: Report from a Symposium
Colin H. Kahl, Brian Katulus, & Marc Lynch
MIddle East Policy - April, 2008
Iraq After the Surge: Options and Questions
Daniel Serwer and Sam Parker
US Institute of Peace - April, 2008
Iraq: Dark Shadows of Things to Come
Wayne White
Middle East Institute - April, 2008
Why al-Maliki Attacked Basra
Juan Cole
Salon - April, 2008
In Iraq, U.S. Caught in Middle of Shiite Rivalry
Ned Parker
Los Angeles Times - March, 2008
The Enigmatic Second Battle of Basra
Reidar Visser
- March, 2008
The Case for Conditional Engagement in Iraq
Colin Kahl and Shawn Brimley
Center for a New American Security - March, 2008
The World Beyond Iraq
Barack Obama
- March, 2008
Iraq's "Hidden" Conflict
Raed Jarrar
Foreign Policy in Focus - March, 2008
Iraq: No Let-up in the Humanitarian Crisis
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - March, 2008
Rule, Not Reconciliation
Dahr Jamail
Foreign Policy in Focus - March, 2008
Debating Devolution in Iraq
Reidar Visser
MERIP - Middle East Research and Information Project - March, 2008
The Myth of the Surge
Nir Rosen
Rolling Stone - February, 2008
The Enduring Trap in Iraq
Adil Shamoo
Foreign Policy in Focus - February, 2008
Counting Iraqi Casualties -- and a Media Controversy
John Tirman
Editor and Publisher - February, 2008
Iraq's Civil War, the Sadrists and the Surge
International Crisis Group - February, 2008
Iraq: Politics Unfrozen, Direction Still Unclear
Daniel Serwer and Rend al-Rahim
US Institute for Peace - January, 2008
The Iraq Project
Paul Rogers
Open Democracy - January, 2008
Briefing Paper: Iraq's New "Accountability and Justice" Law.
International Center for Transitional Justice - January, 2008
US Military Breaks Ranks
Mark Perry
Asia Times - January, 2008
Baghdad Burning: The Blogosphere, Literature and the Art of War
Wayne Hunt
Arab Media and Society - January, 2008
New Study Estimates 151 000 Violent Iraqi Deaths Since 2003 Invasion
World Health Organization - January, 2008
As Iraqis See It
Michael Massing
New York Review of Books - January, 2008
Disaffected Iraqis Spurn Dominant Shiite Clerics
Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post - December, 2007
Muqtada al-Sadr's Power Grab
Mohamad Bazzi
The Nation - December, 2007
Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq: Report to Congress
US Dept of Defense - December, 2007
Political Progress in Iraq During the Surge
Rend Al-Rahim Francke
US Institute of Peace - December, 2007
Iraq's Danger Signals
Paul Rogers
Open Democracy - December, 2007
Will Iraq's Great Awakening Lead to a Nightmare?
Douglas Macgregor
Mother Jones - December, 2007
Iraq Calmer But More Divided
Ned Parker
Los Angeles Times - December, 2007
Why Bush's Troop Surge Won't Save Iraq
Juan Cole
Salon - December, 2007
Inside the Surge: The American Military Finds New Allies, But at What Cost?
Jon Lee Anderson
The New Yorker - November, 2007
Shiite Politics in Iraq: The Role of the Supreme Council
International Crisis Group - November, 2007
Kahl-Katulis Debate on Iraq
Marc Lynch
Abu Aardvark Blog - November, 2007
Strategic Drift in Iraq
John Podesta, Lawrence J. Korb, Brian Katulis
Center for American Progress - October, 2007
Quarterly Report to Congress, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, October 2007
Stuart B. Bowen
Council on Foreign Relations - October, 2007
Ask the Iraqis
Lawrence Wright
New Yorker - October, 2007
Climate of Fear Stymies Basra Reporters
Institute for War and Peace Reporting - October, 2007
Chaos and Unity in a Fragmented Iraq
Roger Owen
Boston Globe - September, 2007
The Iraq Data Debate: Civilian Casualties from 2006 to 2007
Stephen Biddle and Jeffrey Friedman
Council on Foreign Relations - September, 2007
The US Senate Votes to Partition Iraq. Softly
Reidar Visser
- September, 2007
After Neoconservatism
Francis Fukuyama
Political Concepts - September, 2007
No Going Back:
Little relief in sight for millions of displaced Iraqis
Nir Rosen
Boston Review - September, 2007
Can't Win With 'Em, Can't Got to War Without 'Em: Private Military Contractors and Counter Insurgency
P. W. Singer
Brookings Institute - September, 2007
Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq
Report to Congress
Department of Defense - September, 2007
The Terrorism Index
Foreign Policy Magazine - September, 2007
The Next Iraq Problem
Jon Alterman
CSIS - September, 2007
Sunni World
Marc Lynch
The American Prospect - September, 2007
Iraq in 2012: Four Scenarios
Volker Perthes
Open Democracy - September, 2007
Surge Has Failed - Iraqi Poll
BBC, ABC News and NHK - September, 2007
Iraq: Time for a Change
Daniel Serwer
US Institute of Peace - September, 2007
Planning for Defeat
George Packer
New Yorker - September, 2007
The Battle for Iraq is About Oil and Democracy, Not Religion!
Joshua Holland and Raed Jarrar
Alternet - September, 2007
The Surge in Iraq Has Failed
Jessica Matthews
Carnegie Endowment - September, 2007
Seven Months Into the Surge: What Does it Mean for Iraqis?
Rend al-Rahim Francke
US Institute of Peace - September, 2007
Refugees in Limbo: The Plight of Iraqis in Bordering States
Madona Mokbel
MERIP Middle East Report - September, 2007
Report of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq
General James Jones
Center for Strategic and International Studies - September, 2007
Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq
David Walker, Comptroller General
US General Accounting Office (GAO) - September, 2007
The Myth of AQI
Andrew Tilghman
The Washington Monthly - September, 2007
Misunderstanding Muqtada al-Sadr
Matthew Duss
Foreign Policy in Focus - July, 2007
Iraq's Sunni Insurgents: Looking Beyond Al-Qa'ida
Anthony Cordesman
Center for Strategic and International Studies - July, 2007
A Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq
Carlos Pascual and Larry Diamond
Brookings Policy Brief - June, 2007
Where Is Iraq Heading? Lessons from Basra
International Crisis Group - June, 2007
Culture Knowledge and the Violence of Imperialism: Revisiting the Arab Mind
Frances S. Hasso
MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies - May, 2007