Iraq After the Elections

Now that Iraq has held its first national elections since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s political development and the U.S. role there have entered a new phase. With the election complete, questions remain over whether the election and its aftermath will pave the way for security and democracy in the near future, or cause even more instability and conflict.

At this briefing sponsored by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, a respected panel of experts will discuss where Iraq is headed and the implications for U.S. policy. Bathsheba Crocker, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the co-director of its Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project, participated in a CSIS mission to assess the reconstruction in Iraq and co-authored a comprehensive September 2004 report on the state of Iraqi reconstruction. Noah Feldman, a law professor at New York University and an expert on Islamic and constitutional law, advised the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) on the design of Iraq’s interim constitution. Brookings Visiting Fellow Peter Khalil served as director of national security policy for the CPA from August 2003 until May 2004 and played a key role in building the new Iraqi military and reforming Iraq’s security sector.

Military expert Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution and Kenneth M. Pollack, an Iraq analyst and director of research at the Saban Center, will also share their views on the post-election landscape. James B. Steinberg, Brookings vice president and director of the Foreign Policy Studies Program, will moderate the discussion.