Combat operations in Iraq have figured prominently in World Politics Review’s coverage since the publication’s founding in 2006. In that time, Iraq has seen an uptick in violence, followed by the implementation of a new counterinsurgency strategy and troop “surge,” a subsequent reduction in violence, and finally a national parliamentary election in 2010. As the United States declares the official end to combat operations in Iraq, and Iraqis continue to wrangle over forming a government, the strategic landscape is again evolving. This provides an opportunity to look back at four pivotal years in the life of Iraq through the lens of articles published by WPR during that period.
Below are links to each article in this special report, which subscribers can read in full. Subscribers can also download a pdf version of the report. Not a subscriber? Subscribe now, or try our subscription service for free.
2006
Post-Election Politics Will Favor Meaningful Debate on Iraq
By Shawn Brimley
October 25, 2006
The Real Significance of the Tet Offensive for Iraq
By Shawn Brimley
October 27, 2006
Before Midterms, Neither Bush Nor Dems Proposing Good Options for Iraq
By Charles Crain
November 6, 2006
2007
After Saddam, a Sunni-Shiite Thirty Years’ War?
By Iason Athanasiadis
January 3, 2007
Congressional Democrats Begin Efforts to Shape Iraq Policy
By Guy Taylor
January 11, 2007
Bush and the Iraq Study Group: Closer Than We Thought?
By Shawn Brimley
January 22, 2007
Iraq Rearmament Program Heavy on Weapons, Short on Logistics
By David Axe
February 1, 2007
Conceptual Failure: Neoconservatism, Iraq and the Middle East
By Peter Kiernan
February 16, 2007
For Success in Iraq, U.S. Forces Must Out-Innovate Insurgents
By Guy Ben-Ari AND Shawn Brimley
February 20, 2007
Pentagon Says Civil War Exists in Iraq. Now What?
By Neil Shea
March 16, 2007
Turkey-Kurdish Conflict Threatens Stability of Iraq, Region
By Ben Lando
April 26, 2007
Iraq’s Failing Economic Reconstruction
By Richard Weitz
July 30, 2007
Iraq Resconstruction Teams Struggle to Sustain Grassroots Projects
By David Axe
August 14, 2007
2008
Sunni Militias Represent Hope, and a Potential Liability, for Iraq
By David Axe
February 21, 2008
Misreading the Surge Threatens U.S. Army’s Conventional Capabilities
By Gian P. Gentile
March 4, 2008
Progress in Iraq Doesn’t Mean We’re Winning the War on Terror
By Bernard I. Finel
March 12, 2008
In Basra, Another Victory for Moqtada al-Sadr
By Sam Brannen
April 1, 2008
The Limits of the Surge: An Interview with Gian Gentile
By Judah Grunstein
April 11, 2008
U.S. Mistakes in Iraq Weapons Transfers Could Have Been Avoided
By Katarzyna Bzdak
April 17, 2008
Upcoming Iraqi Elections Must Consolidate Security Gains of ‘Sons of Iraq’
By David Ucko
May 20, 2008
Maliki, Obama Hedge Their Bets on U.S. Troops in Iraq
By Charles Crain
July 18, 2008
Institutionalizing Adaptation: U.S. Counterinsurgency Capabilities Must Improve
By John A. Nagl and Brian M. Burton
August 5, 2008
Analysts, U.S. Officials Differ on Maliki’s Plans for Sons of Iraq
By Hampton Stephens
September 11, 2008
Counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan: An Interview with John Nagl
By Urs Gehriger
September 18, 2008
Human Terrain Teams
By Paul McLeary
October 14, 2008
Ends, Ways, and Means in Iraq: 10 Issues for the Obama Administration
By Brian Burton and John Paul Schnapper-Casteras
November 17, 2008
2009
Iraq Move Highlights Progress, Obstacles for Chemical Weapons Disarmament
By Richard Weitz
February 24, 2009
An Agenda for the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
By John A. Nagl AND Brian M. Burton
May 4, 2009
A First Step on the Way Out of Iraq
By Michael Wahid Hanna
July 1, 2009
‘Hard Lessons’ from Iraq, for Afghanistan and Beyond
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
July 27, 2009
2010
Iraq’s Oil Production Fuels Regional Tensions
By Andrea Bonzanni
February 5, 2010
Uneven Tracks for Iraq’s Regional Reintegration
By Michael Wahid Hanna
February 23, 2010
Iraq’s Elections Show Democracy’s Growing Strength
By Ambassador Hamid Al-Bayati
March 9, 2010
Iraq’s Unanswered Questions
By Richard Weitz
March 9, 2010
Victory vs. Democracy in Iraq
By Nikolas Gvosdev
April 2, 2010
Iraq’s Kurdish Problem
By Liam Anderson
May 4, 2010
Qais al-Khazali: A Shiite Insurgency ‘Last Hurrah’ in Iraq?
By J. Edward Conway
May 4, 2010
Leaving Iraq: Debating Obama’s Withdrawal Timeline
By Gregg Carlstrom
May 4, 2010
Iraq and the Post-War Regional Outlook
By Michael Wahid Hanna
May 5, 2010
Iraq: The Status Quo Coalition Forms
By Kirk Sowell
July 1, 2010
Escalating Turkish-Kurdish Hostilities Threaten U.S. Policy in Iraq
By James M. Dorsey
July 30, 2010
If Iraq is New Lebanon, Will U.S. Play Syria?
By Nikolas Gvosdev
August 6, 2010