2012-07-30 By Richard Weitz Many consider Iran the ultimate victor of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Although the subsequent military occupation of Iraq that ended in 2011 was carried out by the United States and its allies, Iranian influence in Iraq grew tremendously following the elimination of the Saddam…
2012-07-30 By Richard Weitz In recent years, Turkey has become one of the most influential countries in NATO, backstopped by dynamic diplomacy, one of the world’s most powerful economies, and a rough neighborhood whose security vacuum propels Turkish involvement. The Turkish-American relationship has existed for two centuries, but their strategic alliance…
2012-07-28 by Richard Weitz The handoff of the Iraq mission from the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of State (DOS) has represented one of the most complex military-to-civilian transitions in American history. DOS has taken over many DOD programs while changing their missions and scale. Mission Iraq, under the…
2012-07-27 By Richard Weitz The Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have achieved the capacity for internal defense against guerrillas and terrorists, but they still lack the essential capabilities and equipment needed to combat a foreign military. The ISF need more combat air power, sophisticated intelligence, mobilization capacity as well as vital…
2012-07-23 by Richard Weitz June 2012 proved to be one of the most violent months in recent Iraqi history, with more than two hundred people killed in violent attacks. These attacks, for which the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda affiliate, claimed responsibility, have continued in early July, with Shiite…
2012-07-19 by Richard Weitz Iraq faces another danger in the country’s overwhelming economic dependence on oil: The constant threat of price instability. Price instability in international energy markets constantly threatens government revenue, deters private investment, and curtails government-funded projects. The implications of oil market fluctuations for the country’s budget were…
2012-07-17 By Richard Weitz The U.S. military operated in since 2008 and until their departure in 2010 under a special Status of Forces Agreement The “Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of…
2012-07-16 by Robbin Laird This past weekend in a fine piece in The New York Times, C.J. Chivers focused on the airpower dimension in Afghan operations. The title was tellingly: “Afghan Conflict Losing Air Power as U.S. pulls out.” In its way, this strike was a model of what air power can…
