VIDEO
Steven Pifer, July 01, 2009
As President Obama prepares for talks with Russian President Medvedev in Moscow, Steven Pifer says the administration is looking for three key outcomes from the meeting: a new treaty to replace START, a cooperative approach for dealing with Iran and Afghanistan, and a structured mechanism to keep their mutual interests on track.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael E. O'Hanlon, June 30, 2009, Washingtonpost.com
Michael O'Hanlon evaluates the situation on the ground in Iraq as troops fully withdraw from cities and urban centers. He concludes that through violence may continue to spike in the short-term, it is unlikely to return to pre-surge levels and he also notes U.S. troops will still be available to play security roles when called upon. Read More
VIDEO
Kenneth M. Pollack, June 29, 2009
As U.S. troops withdraw back to their bases in Iraq, questions remain about Iraq’s ability to maintain security and stability in the country. Iraq’s leadership, military, and police force face a number of challenges ahead as they assume control, but as Kenneth Pollack explains, Iraqis are eager to end the so-called U.S. occupation and establish their sovereignty.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jason Campbell, Michael E. O'Hanlon and Jeremy Shapiro, June 18, 2009, The New York Times
The American troop buildup is proceeding in Afghanistan while Iraq—despite several recent attacks—continues to slowly progress on many fronts. Jason Campbell, Michael O'Hanlon and Jeremy Shapiro examine leading metrics from both conflicts to assess how well the counterinsurgency operations are going. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jamille Bigio and Jen Scott, June 2009, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement
With increased levels of security in Iraq in 2008-9, displaced persons have begun to make decisions about their future: whether to return to their place of origin, locally integrate or resettle in a third location. As Jamille Bigio and Jen Scott argue, the time is ripe to assess how the government of Iraq, with the support of international and national actors, can advance the process of achieving durable solutions to displacement. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Roberta Cohen and Francis M. Deng, June 2009, International Security, Armaments and Disarmament in 2008, SIPRI Yearbook 2009
Massive displacement of people within and across borders has become a defining feature of the post-cold war world. It is also a major feature of human insecurity in which genocide, terrorism, egregious human rights violations and appalling human degradation wreak havoc on civilians. Though there has been a critical shift in thinking at the international level with regards to forced displacement, Cohen and Deng argue that concepts of sovereignty as responsibility and the responsibility to protect remain far ahead of international willingness and capacity to enforce them. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
June 2008, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement
2008 marked the tenth anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement—an occasion both to commemorate efforts over the past decade to uphold the human rights of IDPs and to remind ourselves that much remains to be done. In this report, the Project presents its work from 2008 and discusses the challenges that lie ahead. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Lydia Khalil, June 2009, The Brookings Institution
In this Saban Center working paper, Lydia Khalil examines the unresolved challenges relating to Kurdistan, particularly the status of Kirkuk, oil claims and internal governance, to determine the prospects for long-term Iraqi unity and stability. In presenting this analysis, Khalil offers a series of recommendations for the Obama Administration, placing a priority on strengthened diplomacy and support of mediation efforts that strike a balance between resolving the issues and not alienating the parties. Read More
PAST EVENT
Monday, June 01, 2009
2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Washington, DC
The two Iraq wars in 1991 and 2003 represent milestones in American military intervention abroad. They reflect the influences of the two dominant and competing schools of American foreign policy. On June 1, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host Richard N. Haass for a discussion of his new book War of Necessity, War of Choice, as well as the implications of these two wars for future American military interventions in the Middle East. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jason H. Campbell, Michael E. O'Hanlon and Jeremy Shapiro, May 2009, The Brookings Institution
In conventional warfare, identifying the momentum of battle is a fairly straightforward undertaking, but counterinsurgency and stabilization operations are different, and more complex. Jason Campbell, Michael O'Hanlon and Jeremy Shapiro examine a range of indicators in both Afghanistan and Iraq to reach policy conclusions for current and future counterinsurgency operations. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael E. O'Hanlon, April 29, 2009, Reuters's "The Great Debate"
As President Obama spends his 100th day in office, Michael O'Hanlon assesses the foreign policy maneuvers of the new U.S. administration. Partisan debates aside, O'Hanlon argues that Obama is off to a more solid start—in numerous regions of the world—than any of his recent predecessors. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Justin Vaisse and Sebastian Gräfe, April 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution
To explore the strategies by which Europe can increase its commitment in Iraq and make a constructive difference, the Center on the U.S. and Europe and the Heinrich Böll Foundation convened a workshop in April 2009. In this paper, Justin Vaisse and Sebastian Gräfe summarize the consolidated advice advocated by the workshop participants. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael E. O'Hanlon, April 23, 2009, USA Today
Lloyd Austin is back from Iraq, where he was the number 2 U.S. commander. Michael O'Hanlon writes that Austin's successful tenure says plenty about him and Iraq—and also offers some insights into where the U.S. command should be headed in Afghanistan. Read More
VIDEO
Darrell M. West, April 08, 2009
With stops in London for the G-20 Summit, France and Germany for NATO and additional visits to Turkey and Iraq, President Obama has completed his first major trip abroad as the nation’s leader. Darrell West examines the president’s overseas meetings and the impact they’ll have on his policies.
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
9:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Washington, DC
On April 1, the Center on the U.S. and Europe and the Heinrich Böll Foundation convened a workshop to explore the strategies by which Europe can increase its commitment in Iraq and make a constructive difference. Read More