Post-war Iraq Research Articles

Rebuilding Iraq

This article focuses on various engineering efforts required to reconstruct post-war Iraq. The two most crucial infrastructure issues, by all accounts, are water and electricity, and the ability to deliver clean, treated drinking water is largely dependent on the availability of a reliable source of electricity. Thus, from an engineering standpoint, restoring electricity should be the number one priority. Work has already begun to restore the electric, water, and sanitation infrastructure. The first phase of reconstruction, providing emergency supplies of water and humanitarian aid, began even before the war was over. United States Agency for International Development is in the process of tackling the long-term infrastructure needs of Iraq. The organization has issued nine procurement contracts for reconstruction work. SkyLink Air and Logistic Support Inc. has been signed to provide an assessment of civilian airports, collaboration on their repair, and ongoing management of the airports for receiving and processing humanitarian aid and reconstruction material.

Shia Political Alternatives in Postwar Iraq

Middle East PolicyVolume 10, Issue 2 p. 93-101 Shia Political Alternatives in Postwar Iraq A. William Samii, A. William Samii A regional analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertySearch for more papers by this author A. William Samii, A. William Samii A regional analyst for Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertySearch for more papers by this author First published: 19 May 2003 https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-4967.00108Citations: 2AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume10, Issue2June 2003Pages 93-101 RelatedInformation

Tribulations in the Middle East

Like their Meiji-era predecessors of a century ago, Japan's current leaders must balance their initiatives abroad with domestic considerations. As American interests spread across Eurasia and increasingly come into conflict with Islamist forces, the looming war in Iraq is viewed in some quarters as the culmination of a "clash of civilizations," pitting the industrialized West and its allies against the Muslim world. In this article, University of Tokyo professor Masayuki Yamauchi recalls an eighteenth-century war, precipitously embarked upon, in which Britain vied with Spain for trading rights with colonies in the New World. Present-day US public opinion is then contrasted with popular anti-war sentiment in other countries. Discussing the unintended victims of war, Yamauchi highlights the plight of the Kurds, caught between a rock and a hard place, and concludes by hinting at possible humanitarian and law-enforcement roles for Japan in a post-war Iraq.

Policekeeping is the Key: Rebuilding the Internal Security Architecture of Postwar Iraq

The main problem following a US-led international intervention in Iraq will be re-establishing widespread and sustainable governance. It is probable that with the removal of repressive political authority, state control will falter and crime rates boom. This can be countered through an international civil administration with law and order as a guiding mandating principle. Order could be ensured by ‘policekeeping’, via a large ‘blue force’ of primarily Muslim gendarmerie from surrounding nations. Reliance on military peacekeeping is precarious because of the political sensitivities in the case of Iraq. The blue force would form the foundation of the new internal security architecture in Iraq, and would act to prevent fragmentation and civil war. The role of policekeeping is to preempt and combat ethnic, religious, and political violence, economic crime and the establishment of shadow networks, as well as policing regular crime including those of property and public order. A further vital task would be the development of domestic judicial and policing capacity, which provide an exit strategy for the international mission and the beginnings of a representative and regionally devolved governance structure. These tasks could be financed through a modification of the current oil for food programme, finally transferring this wealth back into Iraqi society. The goal would be to construct a self-sustaining democratic and economically functional state governed by the rule of law, one that can serve as a political beacon for the region.

Should Hezbollah Be Next?

The radical Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah is fomenting violence in post-war Iraq and fanning the flames of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its bloody track record makes it a natural target in the war on terror. But Washington's only option is to confront Hezbollah indirectly: by getting its backers, Syria and Iran, to help change its focus from militancy to politics.

How to Build a Democratic Iraq

THUS FAR, most of the endless talk about the war in Iraq has focused on several issues: the scale of the operation, Washington's motivation, and the rift in the Atlantic alfiance. It is now safe to assume, however, that if and when war comes (as of this writing, the battle had yet to begin), the United States and its allies will win, Saddam Hussein and his cronies will be toppled, and some sort of massive military occupation will follow. In the aftermath of the war, the occupiers will focus on immediate tasks, such as ensuring order, providing relief to the long-suffering Iraqi people, and asserting control over the country. Very quickly, however even before they have met these goals-the victorious powers will have to answer another pressing question: How, exactly, should they go about rebuilding the country? Saying simply that postwar Iraq should be democratic will be the easy part. Just about everyone agrees on that, and indeed, for many this end will justify the entire operation. The more difficult question will be how to make it happen. Fortunately, the job of building democracy in Iraq, although difficult, may not be quite as hard as many critics of the war have warned. Iraq today possesses several features that will facilitate the reconstruction effort. Despite Saddam's long repression, democratic

L'Amérique a redécouvert les limites de la puissance

"America has Rediscovered the Limits of Power", by Thierry de MONTBRIAL Will the difficulties of post-war Iraq impact on the foreign policy of the Bush administration? Do they signal the existence of limitations to American power and if so, which are these? Will China and Russia become tomorrow's great powers? Are the United Nations in crisis and should the organisation be reformed? Has France truly decided to make the construction of Europe the axis of its foreign policy? Comparing short term data with long term trends, Thierry de Montbrial replaces the year 2003 within the context of the general evolution of the international System.

U.S. Policy in Post-Saddam Iraq: Lessons from the British Experience

American troops promising to end a despot's tyranny and usher in a era of freedom and prosperity in Iraq are likely to confront many of the same challenges faced by Britain when its forces entered that country during World War I. Because Britain's Iraq experience - which soon saw the abandonment of London's original, lofty aspirations and eventually ended with the violent overthrow of Iraq's British-backed monarchy - may well be the historical reference Iraqis themselves use, the United States and its allies would be well advised to review the record of Britain's engagement in Iraq and draw useful lessons from it. In this volume, historians and military affairs experts provide much-needed context to the ambitious US effort to reconstruct and transform postwar Iraq.

The Pre-Revolutionary Decade of Land Reform in Iraq

Blessed with large and growing oil revenues, underutilization of land and water, and forward-looking development programs, postwar Iraq faced a promising future. Iraq's subsequent developmental efforts were heavily concentrated in the areas of engineering and physical works projects: dams, roads, industrial plants, schools, and irrigation systems. Relatively modest appropriations and efforts were also made on a land-settlement program. Despite the basic importance of the land-reform issue, commentators on Iraq have typically discussed the program with an uncritical recital of the bare official statistics or discounted it as insignificant or unsuccessful. But whether or not, or to what extent, the program was beneficial-these are questions deserving closer study.