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Iraq

Iraq Inheritance

After nearly a decade at war, American troops have departed Iraq. But Iraq still matters to vital U.S. national interests. The security environment is much improved, but Iraq continues to be beset by terrorist violence, sectarian tension and political infighting. CNAS research focuses on policy options for promoting enduring stability in Iraq and a long-term U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership.

 

 

Related Content

  • Battle Tested Insiders Debate America's Misfires in Iraq and Afghanistan
    Type: News Item
    Source: Foreign Policy

    March 4, 2013 — CNAS' Michѐle Flournoy, Shawn Brimley, and Tom Ricks are amongst experts who debated the American strategy in Afghanistan and Iraq in Foreign Policy. 

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  • Iraq to Mali: The changing calculus of war
    Type: News Item
    Source: Al Jazeera English

    February 25, 2013 — A new episode of Empire on Al Jazeera English features John Nagl and explores the merits, objectives, costs and morality of the West’s endless 'war on terror'.

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  • A 'Zero Option' for Afghanistan
    Type: News Item
    Source: Foreign Policy

    January 7, 2013 — In Foreign Policy Lieutenant General David W. Barno, USA (Ret.) argues the United States does have a full range of options at its disposal in negotiations with President Karzai.

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  • Violence in Iraq spikes. Are US security interests in jeopardy?
    Type: News Item
    Source: Christian Science Monitor

    December 21, 2012 — In the Christian Science Monitor, Senior Fellow Nora Bensahel comments on Iraq's recent uptick in violence.

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  • Questioning the Brass
    Type: News Item
    Source: The New York Times

    November 11, 2012 — In a New York Times Op-Ed, Tom Ricks questions the military's handling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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  • Betting Against a Drone Arms Race
    Type: News Item
    Source: Time

    August 13, 2012 — In an op-ed for TIME.com's Battleland blog, CNAS Researcher Joseph Singh argues that predictions of a drones arms race ignore fundamental principles of military deterrence. 

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  • Andrew Exum Discusses War on Terror on France 24
    Type: News Item
    Source: France 24

    August 1, 2012 — Senior Fellow Dr. Andrew Exum discusses U.S. military interventions over the last decade and explains the war on terror from the frontline on France 24. 

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  • Renewed Violence in Iraq
    Type: News Item
    Source: C-SPAN

    July 30, 2012 — On C-SPAN, Deputy Director of Studies Dr. Nora Bensahel dissects the recent string of bombings that have taken place in Iraq, dicussing who may be behind the increase in violence and what this means for political stability in the country.

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  • John Nagl Discusses Afghanistan on C-Span
    Type: News Item
    Source: C-Span

    June 11, 2012 — CNAS Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr. John Nagl, discusses the end of large-scale military operations in Afghanistan and how the pull-out will affect future stability in the country in an interview on C-Span.

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  • The Age of Unsatisfying Wars
    Type: News Item
    Source: The New York Times

    June 6, 2012 — In a piece for The New York Times, CNAS Non-Resident Senior Fellow John Nagl writes that today's counterinsurgency wars are unsatifying and do not always end with what looks like a conventional victory.

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  • CNAS 4th Annual Conference
    Shaping the Agenda: American National Security in the 21st Century
    June 10, 2010 - 1:30pm - 8:00pm
    Willard Intercontinental Hotel's Grand Ballroom
    Washington, District of Columbia

    The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) will hold its fourth annual conference, Shaping the Agenda: American National Security in the 21st Century, on June 10, 2010. The event will feature a keynote address by Michèle Flournoy, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and three expert panels discussing the most salient national security challenges America faces. 

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  • NATO: Delivering Real Security in an Age of Uncertainty
    NATO: Delivering Real Security in an Age of Uncertainty
    February 22, 2010 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm
    Gaston Hall, Georgetown University
    Washington, District of Columbia

    On Monday, February 22, 2010, CNAS and Georgetown University hosted a discussion with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the challenges and opportunities – including operations in Afghanistan – for the over 60-year-old Alliance. 

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  • Voices from the Field: Majors Jin Pak and Kendric H. Robbins
    December 3, 2009 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm
    Center for a New American Security
    Washington, District of Columbia

    On December 3, 2009, the Center for a New American Security hosted Majors Jin Pak and Kendric Robbins of the U.S. Army as part of our Voices from the Field series. Majors Pak and Robbins discussed our countries ongoing efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as military officership, veterans’ issues, and U.S.-Asia affairs.

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  • The Fourth Star
    CNAS Book Launch: The Fourth Star
    October 13, 2009 - 6:00pm - 9:00pm
    Willard InterContinental Hotel's Grand Ballroom
    Washington, District of Columbia

    The Center for a New American Security held a book launch and discussion on The Fourth Star, by journalists and former CNAS Writers in Residence Greg Jaffe and David Cloud.  The Fourth Star tells the story of the epic struggle for the future of the U.S. Army through profiling four influential generals who have arguably helped redefine the American way of war: Generals John Abizaid, George Casey Jr., Peter Chiarelli, and David Petraeus.  Watch the video from the event here.

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  • Economic Stabilization Working Group
    Economic Stabilization Working Group
    July 8, 2009 - 10:00am - 3:00pm
    ,

    The Center for a New American Security gathered senior-level experts at the U.S. Department of State, Defense, USAID, and various think tanks to discuss how economic tools can best contribute to U.S. strategy and operations in fragile and conflict-affected states.

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  • General David Petraeus
    Striking a Balance: A New American Security
    June 11, 2009 - 7:45am - 7:00pm
    Willard InterContinental Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    Striking a Balance: A New American Security was an all-day CNAS conference highlighting the major foreign policy and national security challenges facing our nation in the critical time ahead.

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  • Book Discussion: The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa
    April 24, 2009 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm
    Center for a New American Security
    Washington, District of Columbia

    Authors Michael L. Burgoyne and Albert J. Marckwardt, both Majors in the United States Army, discussed their book on counterinsurgency in Iraq, The Defense of Jisr al-Doreaa, with press and national security experts at the Center for a New American Security.

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  • The Accidental Guerrilla
    CNAS Book Discussion with David Kilcullen on New Book The Accidental Guerrilla
    April 1, 2009 - 6:00pm - 9:00pm
    Willard InterContinental Hotel's Crystal Room
    Washington, District of Columbia

    The Center for a New American Security was honored to host the launch event for CNAS Senior Fellow and counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen on his new book The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One, a book that takes an infinitely complicated situation like global terrorism and localized guerrilla warfare within the larger framework of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and makes them both understandable and interesting.

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  • The Gamble
    Tom Ricks Releases New Book - The Gamble
    February 12, 2009 - 6:00pm - 9:00pm
    Willard Intercontinental Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    February 12, 2009 - The Center for a New American Security was thrilled to host CNAS Senior Fellow and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Thomas E. Ricks in an event to release his new book The Gamble: General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008, a definitive account of the insurgency within the U.S. military that led to a radical shift in America's strategy in Iraq.

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  • David Sanger Launches New Book- The Inheritance
    January 15, 2009 - 6:00pm - 9:00pm
    Willard Intercontinental Hotel
    Washington, District of Columbia

    January 15, 2009--The Center for a New American Security was pleased to host a book launch of The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power, by David E. Sanger, Chief Washington Correspondent of The New York Times.

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  • Command Post, Iraq
    Command Post: "Iraq: Was That Lack of Immunity for U.S. Troops Simply an Excuse to Pull Out?"
    Date: 11/08/2011
    Media: Video

    The Obama Administration has said it had no choice but to pull out of Iraq by year's end after the Iraqi parliament made it clear it would not grant U.S. troops immunity from Iraqi law for any alleged wrongdoing. Was that a reason -- or an excuse -- to come home? John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I debate the pluses and minuses of the pullout plan with Lawrence Korb, a Reagan-era Pentagon official now at the Center for American Progress, and Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution.

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  • suicide, veterans, military, wellness, joining forces, iraq, cnas
    Transcript - Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide
    Date: 11/03/2011
    Media: Transcript

    The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held an event, Losing the Battle, on November 1, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., to discuss the issue of suicide in the U.S. military with a distinguished panel of experts, including the author of the CNAS report, Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide, Dr. Margaret Harrell, who is a Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative; General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Juliette Kayyem, national security columnist for The Boston Globe and a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University; and Dr. Jan Kemp, National Mental Health Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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  • Command Post, Iraq
    Command Post: "Is It Smart to Pull All U.S. Troops Out of Iraq by Year's End?"
    Date: 11/01/2011
    Media: Video

    It's one of the biggest – and potentially, most consequential – decisions President Obama has made (not that he had much choice, according to some). He has announced that the 45,000 U.S. troops still Iraq will all be home for the holidays. Critics have said Iraq is too fragile for the U.S. to pull out – after eight bloody years there – and that the President should have pressured the Iraqis to let several thousand remain into 2012. John Nagl, of the Center for a New American Security, and I debate the pluses and minuses of the pullout plan with Lawrence Korb, a Reagan-era Pentagon official now at the Center for American Progress, and Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution.

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  • suicide, military, iraq, afghanistan, veterans, chiarelli, cnas, joining forces
    Video - Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide (Panel Discussion)
    Date: 11/01/2011
    Media: Video

    The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held an event, Losing the Battle, on November 1, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., to discuss the issue of suicide in the U.S. military with a distinguished panel of experts, including the author of the CNAS report, Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide, Dr. Margaret Harrell, who is a Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative; General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Juliette Kayyem, national security columnist for The Boston Globe and a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University; and Dr. Jan Kemp, National Mental Health Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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  • suicide, military, iraq, afghanistan, veterans, chiarelli, cnas, joining forces
    Video - Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide (Q&A)
    Date: 11/01/2011
    Media: Video

    The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held an event, Losing the Battle, on November 1, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., to discuss the issue of suicide in the U.S. military with a distinguished panel of experts, including the author of the CNAS report, Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide, Dr. Margaret Harrell, who is a Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative; General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Juliette Kayyem, national security columnist for The Boston Globe and a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University; and Dr. Jan Kemp, National Mental Health Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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  • suicide, military, iraq, afghanistan, veterans, chiarelli, cnas, joining forces
    Video Highlights - Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide
    Date: 11/01/2011
    Media: Video

    The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held an event, Losing the Battle, on November 1, 2011, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., to discuss the issue of suicide in the U.S. military with a distinguished panel of experts, including the author of the CNAS report, Losing the Battle: The Challenge of Military Suicide, Dr. Margaret Harrell, who is a Senior Fellow at CNAS and Director of the Joining Forces Initiative; General Peter Chiarelli, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; Juliette Kayyem, national security columnist for The Boston Globe and a lecturer in public policy at Harvard University; and Dr. Jan Kemp, National Mental Health Program Director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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  • CNAS, John Nagl, veterans, military, afghanistan, iraq, civilian, adjustment
    War Veterans' Adjustment to Civilian Life, Keynote Addresses
    Date: 09/26/2011
    Media: Video

    CNAS President John Nagl gave the keynote address at the U.S. Naval Institute and Military Officers Association Wounded Warriors Forum.

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  • Dr. Kemal Kerkuki, Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament
    Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Kemal Kerkuki, Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament - Audio
    Date: 09/20/2011
    Media: Audio

    On September 20, the Center for a New American Security hosted a roundtable discussion with Dr. Kemal Kerkuki and a number of his colleagues on critical issues in the U.S.-Iraqi relationship, along with the Kurdistan regional government’s relationship with the wider world.

    Listen to audio of the event here.

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  • Command Post, 9/11, U.S. military, national security
    Command Post: The Human Toll Taken by a Decade of War
    Date: 09/15/2011
    Media: Video

    Just how worn out are our troops because of non-stop combat since 9/11? To what degree has that contributed to problems like PTSD, family breakups and suicide in the ranks?  This week, on Command Post, we discuss the tenacity of U.S. troops, as well as the cracks that can appear after a decade of fighting. Margaret Harrell, a military manpower expert at the Center for a New American Security, and Eric Schmitt of the New York Times -- co-author of Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against al Qaeda, tackle these tough issues. Joining me is John Nagl, CNAS president and retired Army officer.

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  • Command Post, Counterstrike, U.S. military, veterans, 9/11
    Command Post: "How Did the U.S. Military Retool Itself Post-9/11?"
    Date: 09/13/2011
    Media: Video

    In the decade after 9/11, just how much did the U.S. military have to recalibrate to fight the wars it found itself launching in Afghanistan and, 18 months later, in Iraq? This week, on Command Post, we discuss the retooling of the American armed forces with Eric Schmitt of the New York Times -- co-author of Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against al Qaeda -- and Margaret Harrell, a military manpower expert with the Center for a New American Security. I'm joined, as usual, by CNAS president John Nagl.

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  • Shawn Brimley
    Shawn Brimley
    Vice President and Director of Studies

    Shawn Brimley is Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) where he oversees the center’s research and serves on the executive leadership team. Mr.

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  • Michele Flournoy
    The Honorable Michèle Flournoy
    Co-Chair of the Board of Directors, Center for a New American Security

    Michèle Flournoy is Co-Chair of  the Board of Directors of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and a senior adviser at the Boston Consulting Group.  She  served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012.  She was the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations.

    | Read Full Bio |
  • John Nagl
    Dr. John A. Nagl
    Non-Resident Senior Fellow

    Dr. John Nagl is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and the Minerva Research Fellow at the U.S. Naval Academy as part of the Department of Defense Minerva Initiative program.  He was previously the President of CNAS. He is also a member of the Defense Policy Board, a Visiting Professor in the War Studies Department at Kings College of London, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies.  Dr.

    | Read Full Bio |