Programs

The Iraq Initiative provides transatlantic and regional policy makers with unique perspectives and analysis on the ongoing challenges and opportunities facing Iraq as the country tries to build an inclusive political system, attract economic investment, and encourage a vibrant civil society.

Top experts

Content

In the News

Jan 9, 2014

Slavin: Obama Admin. Uses Anbar Crisis to Push Maliki

By Barbara Slavin

Barbara Slavin reports for Al Monitor on the violent flare-up in Iraq’s Anbar province and how the Obama administration is pressuring Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to defuse the crisis:

Iraq

MENASource

Nov 17, 2013

New Shia Politics and the Maliki-Sadr Competition in Iraq

By Harith Hasan

The reciprocal criticisms between the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Shia rival, Moqtada al-Sadr, reflect the changing dynamics of Shia politics in Iraq. On several occasions, Sadr, the leader of the Iraqi Islamist Sadrist Movement, warned of a possible “return to dictatorship” in Iraq while denouncing the government’s “exclusionary” policies.

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Nov 15, 2013

US Ambivalence and Security Assistance

By Derek S. Reveron

Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki wrote recently in the New York Times, “In spite of the terrorist threats we face, we are not asking for American boots on the ground. Rather, we urgently want to equip our own forces with the weapons they need to fight terrorism, including helicopters and other military aircraft so that […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2013

Hezbollah, Iran Pay Price for Syria Role

By Barbara Slavin

Two years after President Barack Obama confidently predicted a swift demise for Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president seems relatively secure. Pro-regime forces have clawed back swaths of key territory as the opposition splinters into hundreds of rebel groups.

Iran Iraq

New Atlanticist

Jun 28, 2013

Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey Proceed Slowly on Energy Cooperation

By Ross Wilson & David Koranyi

Overshadowed by the Syrian civil war, rising violence in Iraq, and recent turmoil in Turkey, another problem is simmering in the Middle East.  Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) recently reported that a long-mooted new oil pipeline to Turkey should be completed within months.  By making possible oil not controlled by the Iraqi central government, this […]

Iraq Turkey
Globe

New Atlanticist

Jun 26, 2013

Too Many Archdukes, Too Many Bullets

By Harlan Ullman

Ninety-nine years ago this Friday, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife Sofia were gunned down in Sarajevo by a 19-year old Bosnian Serb nationalist named Gavrilo Princip. The assassinations quickly provoked a crisis that more quickly erupted into world war. Ironically, many of the elites in Europe believed that an early 20th-century version of […]

Afghanistan Cybersecurity

Event Recap

Jun 6, 2013

Stability and Reconstruction Operations Under Fire

On June 6, the South Asia Center hosted a discussion with Stuart Bowen, special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. Mr. Bowen addressed lessons learned from Iraq and the need for a new model for stability and reconstruction operations (SROs).

Iraq

MENASource

May 2, 2013

Iraq’s Dangerous Relapse Needs US Attention

By Ramzy Mardini

The month of April marked the tenth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, the third provincial election of the post-Saddam era—the country’s first without the presence of US troops—and seven years since a relatively unknown Nouri al-Maliki emerged as the prime minister of Iraq. Nevertheless, after a period of relatively low violence and another election […]

Iraq United States and Canada

Event Recap

Apr 8, 2013

Energy Resources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: Promoting Regional Stability and Prosperity

On April 8, 2013, the Atlantic Council’s Patriciu Eurasia Center held a public discussion on “Energy Resources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq” with the Minister of Natural Resources Dr. Ashti Hawrami.

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Mar 27, 2013

Shocking and Awing

By Harlan Ullman

Ten years ago this month, the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom against Saddam Hussein.

Iraq Security & Defense

Experts