Iraq’s Transition In The Shadow Of Egypt
By Ellen Laipson – As the world is riveted to the upheaval in Egypt, Iraq’s decade-long transition to more representative government seems like old news. Iraq’s change was caused by US military action, while Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan are witnessing spontaneous, popular uprisings. Over time, these bottom-up demands for change may enjoy a legitimacy […]
America and the Emerging Iraqi Reality: New Goals, No Illusions
It is time for a new policy in Iraq, to recalibrate America’s equities and engagement there. The current administration is tied to its policy, knowing that the president’s historic legacy will be based on the outcome in Iraq, and hoping that current positive trends can be turned into more permanent conditions. But the American people […]
Reflections On Iraq’s Predicament
Iraq is in a very precarious condition. With a stalled political process, major disagreements over the Constitution, profound sectarian tensions and a pervasive sense of insecurity, the prospects for a strong, modern Iraq are at best dim. The central paradigm that explains political violence has changed. In the first 2 years, the Sunni-led insurgency sought […]
Negotiating Security Arrangements with Iraq: Easier Said than Done
By Ellen Laipson – The leadership in both Iraq and the United States agree on many things regarding Iraq’s security and America’s role in it. Both Prime Minister Maliki and his key ministers and the Bush Administration believe that a continued US military presence is needed as Iraqis consolidate recent gains in achieving more self-sufficiency […]
Arab Transitions
Since 2012, the Stimson Center, in partnership with the George C. Marshall Foundation, has explored the dynamics of the Arab spring, and how the processes of peaceful change and transition have affected the wider region. The project Pathways to Progress: Peace, Prosperity, and Change in the Middle East is the focal point of our efforts, identifying key […]
Iraq And Afghanistan — Any Silver Linings In Our Playbook?
By Ellen Laipson: There’s been a brief break in the storm clouds over Baghdad and Kabul this week; both countries’ struggles to form governments after elections achieved minor progress with the election of a parliament speaker in Iraq and an agreement to audit election results in Afghanistan. But the domestic dysfunction is deep, and cannot […]
New Angles On Iraq: Views Of The Stimson Center’s Experts
The Henry L. Stimson Center presents a collection of short essays on various aspects of the Iraq policy challenge prepared by our experts. We have drawn on the Center’s distinct areas of expertise in managing threats from weapons of mass destruction and in Asian regional security to pull together some new ideas and perspectives on […]
Iraq: Why Reconciliation Is So Hard
By Ellen Laipson – As American politicians debate deadlines and benchmarks for Iraqi performance, it is clear that Iraqi society and its new political class are not yet in a conciliatory mood. The various historic grievances now compete with new rivalries over land and power, creating new tensions that undermine the spirit of reconciliation. In addition, the execution of […]