Iraq

The ongoing debate over whether or not Iraq is on the verge or in the midst of a civil war is a distraction from the main challenge the United States now faces in Iraq: how to reduce or contain sectarian (and ethnic) violence that could derail the political process and

On January 11, 2006, James F. Hoge Jr. and Stuart Rothenberg addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Mr. Hoge is the Peter G. Peterson chair at the Council on Foreign Relations and editor of its flagship journal, Foreign Affairs. Mr. Rothenberg is editor and publisher of the Rothenberg Political

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, no political event has been more important for Iraq than the December 15 elections for a permanent parliament. Although there were other important aspects to the elections, Sunni Arab participation will primarily mark them as a success or a failure to many observers

For years, President Bush has prematurely heralded missions accomplished and corners turned in Iraq. But now it is Bush's critics who are peddling an implausibly rosy forecast: namely, that Iraqis are ready to stand on their own and could do a better job of stabilizing the country without an American

The confluence of key political events and security developments in Iraq suggests that the next several months will be of immeasurable importance for the country's future. The success of upcoming elections, the formation of a constitutionally based government, and the potential withdrawal of significant U.S. forces will depend in large

On December 1, 2005, Ambassador James Jeffrey and Jeffrey White addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum to mark the publication of The Washington Institute's Policy Focus, Assessing Iraq's Sunni Arab Insurgency, by Jeffrey White and Michael Eisenstadt. Ambassador Jeffrey, the senior advisor to the secretary of state and coordinator

The Bush administration has many problems to keep it preoccupied in its remaining three years, including the challenges of post-Katrina reconstruction and a massive budget deficit. Plus the president and the Republicans in Congress have been weighed down by allegations of misconduct. So it is hardly surprising that some worry

The recent reports of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Iraq Survey Group, and the Presidential WMD Commission regarding intelligence and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq offer many useful insights into Iraq's weapons program and the challenges that the intelligence community faced in assessing them. But the reports offer

Though armed insurgencies can last for a decade or more, they also can have decisive periods in which their paths are set, even if those paths do not become apparent for some time. Iraq appears to be entering just such a period of decision. Starting Conditions The process of political