Chapter Four: Rebuilding the civil and military capacity of the Iraqi state

Abstract

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was undertaken to dismantle a regime that had longthreatened its own population and regional peace, as well as to establish astable, democratic state in the heart of the Middle East. This Adelphi looksat the legacy of that intervention. It analyses the evolution of the insurgency,the descent into civil war and the ‘surge’ as a counter-insurgency strategy andexamines US and Iraqi efforts to reconstruct the state's military and civiliancapacity. This book seeks to answer three questions that are central to thecountry's future. Will it continue to suffer high levels of violence or even slideback into a vicious civil war? Will Iraq continue on a democratic path, asexemplified by the three competitive national elections held since 2005? Anddoes the new Iraq pose a threat to its neighbours?