Iraq

Mission Not Accomplished

By Harlan Ullman

Last week, the Obama administration announced the end of U.S. engagement in the Iraq war, honoring a campaign promise and the agreement that U.S. President George W. Bush reached with Baghdad to remove combat forces by the end of 2011.   But violence and instability in Iraq and the region are far from over. And […]

As US Exits Iraq, “Endgame” in Afghanistan Remains Elusive

By Barbara Slavin

Washington’s failure to gain Iraqi approval for a significant U.S. military presence in that country beyond December could make it harder for Afghanistan to agree to a similar deployment beyond 2014. Vali Nasr, a former senior adviser to the State Department on Afghanistan and Pakistan, said the Iraq experience could be a “model” for Afghanistan. […]

Leaving Iraq a Necessary Risk

By James Joyner

President Obama’s surprise announcement Friday that all US forces would leave Iraq in time to be home for the holidays has been roundly condemned. While there are real concerns about what happens next, there was no better alternative. American Security Project senior fellow Michael Cohen dismisses the critiques as “nakedly partisan talking points masquerading as policy disputes.” In some […]

Iraq: A Trillion Dollars Worth of Nothing

By Sarwar Kashmeri

For many Americans, news that the nearly 9-year-old war in Iraq is finally over will evoke feelings of relief but also revulsion. Relief, for the families of the military women and men that are coming home. And revulsion, for the officials and politicians that lacked the courage to prevent this unnecessary war. For me personally, […]

Iraqi Oil Contracts: Did America Lose Out?

By Don Snow

The announcement last week that the Iraqi government had awarded foreign contracts for the exploitation of a number of its oil fields created a remarkably mild, one-day reaction in the popular press. The gist of the awards, of course, was that virtually everybody, from the Russians and Chinese to the Malaysians and Angolans, were given […]

Iraq Victory Achieved with Handover?

By Chris Dierkes

Tomorrow is the deadline for the exit of US Forces from the cities in Iraq, as per the details of the Status of Forces Agreement between the (then) Bush and Maliki governments.

Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan are Strategic Partners

By David Phillips

Turkey’s military strikes against the PKK in northern Iraq were a tactical and political success.  Applying military pressure catalyzed Ankara’s decision to offer Iraqi Kurdistan political and economic rewards in exchange for cooperation against the PKK, a U.S.-listed terrorist organization that Turkey holds responsible for 30,000 deaths since 1984. As a result, Turkey and Iraqi […]

Confidence Building between Turks and Iraqi Kurds

The Obama administration’s “responsible redeployment” from Iraq is made even more urgent by the requirements resulting from worsening conditions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. For redeployment to occur on scale and on schedule, the United States seeks an end-state in Iraq that is stable and at peace with its neighbors. Simmering sectarian violence is inevitable, but […]

Power Transitions in U.S. and Iraq

By David Smith

“Congratulations, Mr. President.”  With those words from US Chief Justice John Roberts, Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States.  Under the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, this orderly transfer of power happened at 12 noon on January 20 — no sooner and no later.