• Policy Analysis

    Twenty Years after “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq: A Critical Assessment

    May 2, 2023

    The crisis had been building for months when, on March 20, 2003, this author stood with a group of military officers deep inside the Pentagon, watching a telev…

  • Policy Analysis

    Iraq 20 Years since the 2003 US Invasion

    Mar 24, 2023

    On March 20, 2003, the United States led an invasion of Iraq supposedly meant to halt its development of weapons of mass destruction. Lacking the support of th…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Unfinished Business: Nation-Building in Iraq Since 2003

    Mar 21, 2023Rend Al-Rahim

    Nothing so perfectly expresses the failure of nation-building in Iraq as the cry of protesters in 2019, when they chanted, nureed watan, “we want a country.” T…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani Upstages His Benefactors in the Coordination Framework

    Jan 31, 2023Rend Al-Rahim

    Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, who was sworn in on October 27, 2022, has nearly completed the first 100 days of his tenure. In this short perio…

  • Policy Analysis

    Depoliticizing Iraq-Gulf Relations Through Soccer

    Jan 11, 2023

    Iraq is defying its reputation and fighting against all odds in its attempt to depoliticize its regional image through the use of soccer. Between January 6 and…

  • Policy Analysis

    Iraq’s Foreign Policy Balancing Act Is Likely to Continue

    Nov 29, 2022

    Despite the support that Iraq’s new prime minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, has received from pro-Iran factions in the Iraqi Parliament, he is likely to purs…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqDemocracy and Governance

    Challenges and Prospects Facing the New Government in Iraq

    Nov 8, 2022Rend Al-Rahim

    Twelve months of high drama in Iraqi politics finally ended on October 27, with the investiture of a new government headed by Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. Two wee…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeySecurity and Defense

    Turkey’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy in Iraq

    Sep 28, 2022Mustafa Gurbuz

    Head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan’s recent visit to Baghdad was an attempt to heal wounds that were opened during a diplomatic ro…

  • Policy Analysis

    Iran’s Cautious Stance on Iraq’s Current Political Crisis

    Sep 27, 2022

    Iraqi politicians have repeatedly failed to form a government in the eleven months that have passed since the country’s October 2021 elections, in large part d…

  • Policy Analysis

    In Iraq’s Political Stalemate, Sadr May Be in Charge

    Aug 23, 2022

    Iraq’s political deadlock has grown more intense and complex in recent months. The stalemate that has reigned since the re-election of Speaker of Parliament Mo…

  • Policy Analysis

    Iraq’s Political Crisis: A Country Adrift in Chaos

    Aug 10, 2022

    Rend Al-Rahim discusses the latest events in Iraqi politics, including the Sadrist Movement’s political maneuvering and its incitement of street protests that …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Reflections on President Biden’s Predictably Disappointing Middle East Trip

    Jul 21, 2022Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Laurie King Rend Al-Rahim

    US President Joe Biden visited Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia from July 13 to 16 to meet with various regional leaders. This was Biden’s first visit as pr…