Kanan Makiya: why Iraq failed after liberation
Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, no voice arguing for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein had greater moral weight than that of Kanan Makiya*, notes Reuel Marc Gerecht, a senior… Read more »
Category: Iraq
Exploiting Disorder: al-Qaeda and the Islamic State
A purely military approach to countering violent jihadist extremism risks entrenching the resentment and victimization of Sunnis and deepening chaos, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group (ICG). The… Read more »
The Obama Doctrine: advancing democracy, but….
President Barack Obama is a democratic internationalist, he tells The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, but experience has also taught him to temper his idealism with a pragmatic, realist approach to foreign… Read more »
Iran sought client state in Iraq, says envoy
Senior American officials held confidential talks with Iran about Iraq’s future in advance of the United States-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, and secured a promise that the Iranian military would not fire… Read more »
World’s most fragile states threaten global stability
The states of Libya and Syria have deteriorated the most over the last decade, posing the greatest threats to global stability, according to the Fragile States Index. “Reflective of… Read more »
Is the age of Middle East ‘regime change’ over?
With the tragic consequences of America’s role in the overthrow of Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya added to the failures of U.S. intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, the policy of regime change is being more… Read more »
Governments can’t win war of words with ISIS
Why is the West not winning the war of words with ISIS and reclaiming the virtual landscape in which radical Islamists openly recruit? asks Jonathan Russell, head of policy… Read more »
Rule of Law in Areas of Limited Statehood
The Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus regions are increasingly characterized by Areas of Limited Statehood (ALS): ALS are territories where governments lack the ability or will to implement… Read more »
Pragmatic Engagement Amidst Global Uncertainty: How to Advance Democracy
The outcomes of American interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya during the last fifteen years suggest that in many countries the active promotion of American values, democracy, and human rights… Read more »
Countering the globalization of jihad
Terror attacks in recent months — some claimed by Isis or its adherents — suggest that the Sunni Islamist extremist group and its violent, ultra-conservative ideology are successfully extending their… Read more »