DOCSLIB.ORG

Religion, Violence, and the State in Iraq October 2019 Contents

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Religion, Violence, and the State in Iraq October 2019 Contents POMEPS STUDIES 35 Religion, Violence, and the State in Iraq October 2019 Contents Introduction: Religion, Violence, and the State in Iraq................................................................................…2 Marc Lynch and David Siddhartha Patel Te State Under Sanctions War, Bureaucracy, and Controlling Religion in Saddam’s Iraq…...................................................................6 Samuel Helfont, Naval Postgraduate School Sex Crimes and Punishment in Baghdad…......................................................................................................10 Alissa Walter, Seattle Pacific University Sectarianism, Religious Actors, and the State Institutionalizing Exclusion: De-Ba‘thification in post-2003 Iraq…...........................................................17 Shamiran Mako, Boston University Ayatollah Sistani: Much More than a “Guide” for Iraqis…...........................................................................22 Caroleen Sayej, Connecticut College Reimagining the Hawza and the State…............................................................................................................29 Marsin Alshamary, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Siting the State: Intersections of space, religion, and political economy in Baghdad…..........................33 Omar Sirri, University of Toronto Muhasasa Ta’ifiya and its Others: Domination and contestation in Iraq’s political field…....................38 Toby Dodge, London School of Economics Te Diminishing Relevance of the Sunni-Shi‘a Divide…...............................................................................47 Fanar Haddad, National University of Singapore ISIS, Violence, and Legacies Understanding Displacement Decisions During Rebel Governance: Evidence from Mosul, Iraq.......55 Mara Redlich Revkin, Yale University Achieving a Durable Peace by Reforming Post-ISIS Justice Mechanisms in Iraq................................…63 Nussaibah Younis, European Institute of Peace Genocidal Rape and Community Cohesion: Te Case of Yezidis…............................................................68 Tutku Ayhan, University of Central Florida Seeing Beyond Ethnosectarianism Violence in Iraq: Some Methodological and Historiographical Questions…...........................................73 Sara Pursley, New York University Cultural Antecedents of the Leftist-Sadrist Alliance: A case study of Sadrist institution building…..79 Benedict Robin-D’Cruz, University of Edinburgh Feminist Activisms in Post-Da’esh Iraq….........................................................................................................85 Zahra Ali, Rutgers University Te Project on Middle East Political Science Te Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) is a collaborative network that aims to increase the impact of political scientists specializing in the study of the Middle East in the public sphere and in the academic community. POMEPS, directed by Marc Lynch, is based at the Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University and is supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Henry Luce Foundation. For more information, see http://www.pomeps.org. 2 INTRODUCTION Introduction: Religion, Violence, and the State in Iraq Marc Lynch and David Siddhartha Patel Iraq was long neglected by Middle East political emerged writing about their own country’s politics and scientists, rarely treated as a comparative case for studies society. of democratization or social mobilization and generally viewed as an exceptional outlier case in studies of Tis has led to a rethinking of the relationships among authoritarianism. Islamist movements in Iraq received religion, violence, and the Iraqi state before and after little attention, despite the participation of a Muslim 2003. How much control did the Ba‘th regime have Brotherhood-affiliated party in government as well as over society immediately before the invasion, and what the fascinating array of Shi‘i Islamist movements and role did violence play in that control? In what ways did parties that have competed in elections and governed the regime’s Faith Campaign in the 1990s influence the the country since 2005. Te neglect of Iraq had many post-invasion prominence of religious actors? Why did causes. Prior to 2003, Saddam Hussein’s security state sectarian politics and violence become so pronounced offered little access to researchers of any kind, while soon after the invasion yet later ebb? Finally, what the intense violence and insecurity in the decade after dynamics within Iraq are missed by looking at the his overthrow deterred most scholars who were not country through a lens that prioritizes sectarianism? embedded with coalition authorities or the U.S. military. Political opposition to the invasion and occupation In April 2019, POMEPS and the Crown Center for of Iraq may also have led scholars to avoid research Middle East Studies at Brandeis University brought which they thought might somehow vindicate the Bush together almost two dozen scholars to discuss these administration’s calls for democratization through and other topics. Te authors come from different regime change. disciplines – political science, history, sociology, and urban studies – and employ a range of methodologies In recent years, however, the study of Iraq has undergone and sources of data. All of the authors have conducted a quiet renaissance. Iraq has become comparatively research either in Iraq or in the Ba‘th Party Records at safer and more open to academic research than in the the Hoover Institution or both. Te 14 papers in this past, while other Arab countries have become closed collection exemplify the ways in which scholars are using to researchers or less safe. New outrages since the 2011 new perspectives, data, and sources to offer insights into Arab Uprisings, such as the debates over intervention in religion, violence, and the state in Iraq’s past, present, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, have perhaps eased the unique and future. stigma surrounding the post-2003 Iraqi project, while a younger generation of scholars may be less shaped by Te state under sanctions the politics of that moment. Te failed states and civil wars of the post-2011 period arguably have made Iraq Understandings of Iraqi politics were long shaped by an “less unique,” with its experience now viewed as offering iconic 1989 book by Kanan Makiya which described Iraq valuable comparative perspective. Te opening of the under Saddam as a totalitarian state built on violence: Ba‘ath Party archives to researchers, while problematic Republic of Fear. Te implication was that the Iraqi state in some ways, has created the possibility for genuinely penetrated and controlled virtually every aspect of life unique archival study of the inner workings of an Arab through pervasive surveillance and brutal punishments. autocracy. And a generation of young Iraqi scholars has Te millions of pages in the Ba‘th records captured and 2 INTRODUCTION made available to scholars after the 2003 invasion has bodies, are often seen as entrenching sectarianism allowed a significant rethinking of the extent to which and ensuring a leading role for religious actors. In this the Ba‘thist regime had been capable of exercising this collection, Shamiran Mako pays particular attention level of control. Recent books by Lisa Blaydes, Aaron to the consequences of the Coalition Provisional Faust, Dina Khoury, Joseph Sassoon, and others have Authority’s institutionalization of patterns of exclusion carefully explored the limits of the Iraqi state’s reach, and ethnic dominance through its creation of the showing how the exigencies of the Iran-Iraq war in the de-Ba‘thification Commission, which she argues was 1980s and the international sanctions that were placed used as a vehicle for the exclusion of Sunni Arabs from on Iraq beginning in 1990 changed how the country was public life rather than as one for democratization and governed. reconciliation. Several authors in this collection draw on these sources Several contributors to this collection examine how the to explore continuity and change in the 35 years the Shi‘i clergy responded to these changes. Caroleen Sayej party ruled. Samuel Helfont emphasizes how powerful describes how Grand Ayatollah Sistani pushed back taboos within the Ba‘thist bureaucracy – originally against this trend, rejecting sectarianism and pushing rooted in the party’s Arab nationalist ideology – against for an inclusive Iraqi national identity. She emphasizes distinguishing between Sunnis and Shi‘a transformed his commitment to serve as a guide and moral compass policies initially directed at specific groups of Iraqis for Iraq. Marsin Alshamary’s interviews with Shi‘i clerics into larger projects encompassing all of Iraq’s religious about the relationship between religion and state reflect landscape. Te state, in this account, was compelled the impact of Sistani’s position but also the desire of to intrude into Sunni circles when the initial target the religious establishment to protect itself from the were Shi‘a and vice versa. In contrast, Alissa Walter Iraqi state. Te management of Baghdad’s al-Rahman uses the escalating criminalization of sex work in the Mosque, whose construction began as part of the Faith 1990s to discuss how low-ranking individuals in the Campaign, reflects how private actors – in this case a security and legal system could exercise discretion religious party linked to a Shi‘i cleric – came to control, in the application of mandated punishments.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Heirs of the Prophet: Islamic Authority and International Politics in the 21 Century by James A. Mikulec, Jr. B.A., Mercyhurst C
    Heirs of the Prophet: Islamic Authority and International Politics in the 21 st Century by James A. Mikulec, Jr. B.A., Mercyhurst College, May 2005 M.A., George Washington University, August 2007 A Dissertation submitted to The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 31, 2014 Dissertation directed by Marc Lynch Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and of Media and Public Affairs The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University certifies that James A. Mikulec, Jr. has passed the Final Examination for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy as of December 13, 2013. This is the final and approved form of the dissertation. Heirs of the Prophet: Islamic Authority and International Politics in the 21 st Century James A. Mikulec, Jr. Dissertation Research Committee: Marc Lynch, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and of Media and Public Affairs, Dissertation Director Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Committee Member Martha Finnemore, University Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, Committee Member ii © Copyright 2014 by James A. Mikulec, Jr. All rights reserved iii Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to Jessica and to my family, especially my parents, James and Donna Mikulec, and my grandparents, Peter and Joyce Izzi and Joseph and Laura Mikulec, who always encouraged me to pursue the things that I love. Without their constant support, I would not be here today. iv Acknowledgements This dissertation was written during (and, in some cases, was an eyewitness to) a particularly important, but volatile period in the political and social history of the Middle East and the Muslim world.
    [Show full text]
  • Prism Vol. 9, No. 2 Prism About Vol
    2 021 PRISMVOL. 9, NO. 2 | 2021 PRISM VOL. 9, NO. 2 NO. 9, VOL. THE JOURNAL OF COMPLEX OPER ATIONS PRISM ABOUT VOL. 9, NO. 2, 2021 PRISM, the quarterly journal of complex operations published at National Defense University (NDU), aims to illuminate and provoke debate on whole-of-government EDITOR IN CHIEF efforts to conduct reconstruction, stabilization, counterinsurgency, and irregular Mr. Michael Miklaucic warfare operations. Since the inaugural issue of PRISM in 2010, our readership has expanded to include more than 10,000 officials, servicemen and women, and practi- tioners from across the diplomatic, defense, and development communities in more COPYEDITOR than 80 countries. Ms. Andrea L. Connell PRISM is published with support from NDU’s Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS). In 1984, Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger established INSS EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS within NDU as a focal point for analysis of critical national security policy and Ms. Taylor Buck defense strategy issues. Today INSS conducts research in support of academic and Ms. Amanda Dawkins leadership programs at NDU; provides strategic support to the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, combatant commands, and armed services; Ms. Alexandra Fabre de la Grange and engages with the broader national and international security communities. Ms. Julia Humphrey COMMUNICATIONS INTERNET PUBLICATIONS PRISM welcomes unsolicited manuscripts from policymakers, practitioners, and EDITOR scholars, particularly those that present emerging thought, best practices, or train- Ms. Joanna E. Seich ing and education innovations. Publication threshold for articles and critiques varies but is largely determined by topical relevance, continuing education for national and DESIGN international security professionals, scholarly standards of argumentation, quality of Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Full Report
    How Iran exports its ideology “We shall export our revolution to the whole world. Until the cry ‘there is no god but God’ resounds over the whole world, there will be struggle.” – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini December 2020 Table of Contents About the Author .................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Profiles of Institutions Spreading Iran’s Revolution Abroad ................................................................... 6 Universities ..............................................................................................................................6 Al-Mustafa International University ................................................................................................. 6 Islamic Azad University .................................................................................................................... 8 Charitable Organizations ........................................................................................................ 10 Imam Khomeini Relief Committee .................................................................................................. 10 Ahlul Bayt World Assembly ............................................................................................................ 12 Iran’s Media Empire ..............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Security in Ninewa: Preventing an ISIS Resurgence in Northern Iraq
    The Politics of Security in Ninewa: Preventing an ISIS Resurgence in Northern Iraq Julie Ahn—Maeve Campbell—Pete Knoetgen Client: Office of Iraq Affairs, U.S. Department of State Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Advisor: Meghan O’Sullivan Policy Analysis Exercise Seminar Leader: Matthew Bunn May 7, 2018 This Policy Analysis Exercise reflects the views of the authors and should not be viewed as representing the views of the US Government, nor those of Harvard University or any of its faculty. Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude to the many people who helped us throughout the development, research, and drafting of this report. Our field work in Iraq would not have been possible without the help of Sherzad Khidhir. His willingness to connect us with in-country stakeholders significantly contributed to the breadth of our interviews. Those interviews were made possible by our fantastic translators, Lezan, Ehsan, and Younis, who ensured that we could capture critical information and the nuance of discussions. We also greatly appreciated the willingness of U.S. State Department officials, the soldiers of Operation Inherent Resolve, and our many other interview participants to provide us with their time and insights. Thanks to their assistance, we were able to gain a better grasp of this immensely complex topic. Throughout our research, we benefitted from consultations with numerous Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) faculty, as well as with individuals from the larger Harvard community. We would especially like to thank Harvard Business School Professor Kristin Fabbe and Razzaq al-Saiedi from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative who both provided critical support to our project.
    [Show full text]
  • Research Notes
    RESEARCH NOTES The Washington Institute for Near East Policy ■ No. 38 ■ Oc t ober 2016 How to Secure Mosul Lessons from 2008—2014 MICHAEL KNIGHTS N EARLY 2017, Iraqi security forces (ISF) are likely to liberate Mosul from Islamic State control. But given the dramatic comebacks staged by the Islamic State and its predecessors in the city in I2004, 2007, and 2014, one can justifiably ask what will stop IS or a similar movement from lying low, regenerating, and wiping away the costly gains of the current war. This paper aims to fill an important gap in the literature on Mosul, the capital of Ninawa province, by looking closely at the underexplored issue of security arrangements for the city after its liberation, in particular how security forces should be structured and controlled to prevent an IS recurrence. Though “big picture” politi- cal deals over Mosul’s future may ultimately be decisive, the first priority of the Iraqi-international coalition is to secure Mosul. As John Paul Vann, a U.S. military advisor in Vietnam, noted decades ago: “Security may be ten percent of the problem, or it may be ninety percent, but whichever it is, it’s the first ten percent or the first ninety percent. Without security, nothing else we do will last.”1 This study focuses on two distinct periods of Mosul’s Explanations for both the 2007–2011 successes and recent history. In 2007–2011, the U.S.-backed Iraqi the failures of 2011–2014 are easily identified. In the security forces achieved significant success, reducing earlier span, Baghdad committed to Mosul’s stabilization security incidents in the city from a high point of 666 and Iraq’s prime minister focused on the issue, authoriz- per month in the first quarter of 2008 to an average ing compromises such as partial amnesty and a reopen- of 32 incidents in the first quarter of 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • International Law and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq Revisited
    International Law and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq Revisited Donald K. Anton Associate Professor of Law The Australian National University College of Law Paper delivered April 30, 2013 Australian National University Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy The Invasion of Iraq: Canadian and Australian Perspectives Seminar1 INTRODUCTION Good morning. Thank you to the organizers for inviting me to participate today in this retrospective on the 2003 invasion of Iraq. My role this morning, as I understand it, is to parse the international legal arguments surrounding the invasion and to reconsider them in the fullness of time that has elapsed. It is a role I agreed to take on with hesitation because it is difficult to add much that is new. I suppose I can take comfort in saying what I’ve already said, and saying it again today, because of how I view my obligations as an international lawyer. I believe we lawyers have a duty to stand up and insist that our leaders adhere to the rule of law in international relations and to help ensure that they are held accountable for the failure to do so. As I am sure you are all aware, much remains to be done in terms of accountability, especially in the United States, and it is disappointing that the Obama Administration has so far refused to prosecute what seem to be clear violations of the Torture Convention, including all the way up the chain of command if necessary. Today, however, my talk is confined to the legal arguments about the use of force in Iraq and an analysis of their persuasiveness.
    [Show full text]
  • The United States, Eduardo Frei's Revolution in Liberty and The
    The Gathering Storm: The United States, Eduardo Frei's Revolution in Liberty and the Polarization of Chilean Politics, 1964-1970 A dissertation presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Sebastian Hurtado-Torres December 2016 © 2016 Sebastian Hurtado-Torres. All Rights Reserved. 2 This dissertation titled The Gathering Storm: The United States, Eduardo Frei's Revolution in Liberty, and the Polarization of Chilean Politics, 1964-1970 by SEBASTIAN HURTADO-TORRES has been approved for the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences by Patrick Barr-Melej Associate Professor of History Robert Frank Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT HURTADO-TORRES, SEBASTIAN, Ph.D., December 2016, History The Gathering Storm: The United States, Eduardo Frei’s Revolution in Liberty, and the Polarization of Chilean Politics, 1964-1970 Director of Dissertation: Patrick Barr-Melej This dissertation explores the involvement of the United States in Chilean politics between the presidential campaign of 1964 and Salvador Allende’s accession to the presidency in 1970. The main argument of this work is that the partnership between the Christian Democratic Party of Chile (PDC) and the United States in this period played a significant role in shaping Chilean politics and thus contributed to its growing polarization. The alliance between the PDC and the United States was based as much on their common views on communism as on their shared ideas about modernization and economic development. Furthermore, the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, headed by men strongly committed to the success of the Christian Democratic project, involved itself heavily in the inner workings of Chilean politics as an informal actor, unable to dictate terms but capable of exerting influence on local actors whose interests converged with those of the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Roles of Arabic Language in Determination of Sunnah Corruption
    International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 10, No. 9, 2020, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2020 HRMARS Roles of Arabic Language in Determination of Sunnah Corruption Muhammad Muthi`ul Haqq Fatah Yasin & Basri Ibrahim To Link this Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v10-i9/7888 DOI:10.6007/IJARBSS/v10-i9/7888 Received: 04 June 2020, Revised: 10 July 2020, Accepted: 12 August 2020 Published Online: 27 September 2020 In-Text Citation: (Yasin, & Ibrahim, 2020) To Cite this Article: Yasin, M. M. H. F., & Ibrahim, B. (2020). Roles of Arabic Language in Determination of Sunnah Corruption. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 10(9), 952-961. Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s) Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com) This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode Vol. 10, No. 9, 2020, Pg. 952 - 961 http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/IJARBSS JOURNAL HOMEPAGE Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/publication-ethics 952 International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 10, No. 9, 2020, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2020 HRMARS Roles of Arabic Language in Determination of Sunnah Corruption Muhammad Muthi`ul Haqq Fatah Yasin1 & Basri Ibrahim2 1University Islam Malaysia, Cyberjaya, Malaysia/ Kolej Universiti Islam Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia.
    [Show full text]
  • Kurdistan Rising? Considerations for Kurds, Their Neighbors, and the Region
    KURDISTAN RISING? CONSIDERATIONS FOR KURDS, THEIR NEIGHBORS, AND THE REGION Michael Rubin AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE Kurdistan Rising? Considerations for Kurds, Their Neighbors, and the Region Michael Rubin June 2016 American Enterprise Institute © 2016 by the American Enterprise Institute. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any man- ner whatsoever without permission in writing from the American Enterprise Institute except in the case of brief quotations embodied in news articles, critical articles, or reviews. The views expressed in the publications of the American Enterprise Institute are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, advisory panels, officers, or trustees of AEI. American Enterprise Institute 1150 17th St. NW Washington, DC 20036 www.aei.org. Cover image: Grand Millennium Sualimani Hotel in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, by Diyar Muhammed, Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons. Contents Executive Summary 1 1. Who Are the Kurds? 5 2. Is This Kurdistan’s Moment? 19 3. What Do the Kurds Want? 27 4. What Form of Government Will Kurdistan Embrace? 56 5. Would Kurdistan Have a Viable Economy? 64 6. Would Kurdistan Be a State of Law? 91 7. What Services Would Kurdistan Provide Its Citizens? 101 8. Could Kurdistan Defend Itself Militarily and Diplomatically? 107 9. Does the United States Have a Coherent Kurdistan Policy? 119 Notes 125 Acknowledgments 137 About the Author 139 iii Executive Summary wo decades ago, most US officials would have been hard-pressed Tto place Kurdistan on a map, let alone consider Kurds as allies. Today, Kurds have largely won over Washington.
    [Show full text]
  • Iraq Main to Printer 3
    U.S. POLICY IN POST-SADDAM IRAQ LESSONS FROM THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE Edited by Michael Eisenstadt and Eric Mathewson THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, re- cording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. © 2003 by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Published in 2003 in the United States of America by The Washing- ton Institute for Near East Policy, 1828 L Street NW, Suite 1050, Washington, DC 20036. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data U.S. policy in post-Saddam Iraq : lessons from the British experience/ edited by Michael Eisenstadt and Eric Mathewson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-944029-84-1 1. Iraq—Relations—Great Britain. 2. Great Britain—Relations—Iraq. 3. World War, 1914–1918—Iraq. 4. World War, 1939–1945— Iraq. 5. National state. I. Title: U.S. policy in post-Saddam Iraq. II. Eisenstadt, Michael. III. Mathewson, Eric, 1959– IV. Washington Institute for Near East Policy. DS70.96.G7U15 2003 327.410567'09'04—dc21 2003004627 Cover inset photograph of Faysal ibn Husayn with his delegates and advisors at the Versailles peace conference in 1919 © Bettmann/Corbis. Behind him in the picture are (left to right) his private secretary and fellow delegate Rustum Haydar; Brigadier General Nuri al-Sa‘id of Baghdad; Captain Rosario Pisani of France; Colonel T. E.
    [Show full text]
  • The Real Outcome of the Iraq War: US and Iranian Strategic Competition in Iraq
    The Real Outcome of the Iraq War: US and Iranian Strategic Competition in Iraq By Anthony H. Cordesman, Peter Alsis, Adam Mausner, and Charles Loi Anthony H. Cordesman Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy Revised: December 20, 2011 Note: This draft is being circulated for comments and suggestions. Please provide them to [email protected] Chapter 6: US Strategic Competition with Iran: Competition in Iraq 2 Executive Summary "Americans planted a tree in Iraq. They watered that tree, pruned it, and cared for it. Ask your American friends why they're leaving now before the tree bears fruit." --Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.1 Iraq has become a key focus of the strategic competition between the United States and Iran. The history of this competition has been shaped by the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the 1991 Gulf War, and the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Since the 2003 war, both the US and Iran have competed to shape the structure of Post-Saddam Iraq’s politics, governance, economics, and security. The US has gone to great lengths to counter Iranian influence in Iraq, including using its status as an occupying power and Iraq’s main source of aid, as well as through information operations and more traditional press statements highlighting Iranian meddling. However, containing Iranian influence, while important, is not America’s main goal in Iraq. It is rather to create a stable democratic Iraq that can defeat the remaining extremist and insurgent elements, defend against foreign threats, sustain an able civil society, and emerge as a stable power friendly to the US and its Gulf allies.
    [Show full text]
  • Iraq's Displacement Crisis
    CEASEFIRE centre for civilian rights Lahib Higel Iraq’s Displacement Crisis: Security and protection © Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights and Minority Rights Group International March 2016 Cover photo: This report has been produced as part of the Ceasefire project, a multi-year pro- gramme supported by the European Union to implement a system of civilian-led An Iraqi boy watches as internally- displaced Iraq families return to their monitoring of human rights abuses in Iraq, focusing in particular on the rights of homes in the western Melhaniyeh vulnerable civilians including vulnerable women, internally-displaced persons (IDPs), neighbourhood of Baghdad in stateless persons, and ethnic or religious minorities, and to assess the feasibility of September 2008. Some 150 Shi’a and Sunni families returned after an extending civilian-led monitoring to other country situations. earlier wave of displacement some two years before when sectarian This report has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union violence escalated and families fled and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. The con- to neighbourhoods where their sect was in the majority. tents of this report are the sole responsibility of the publishers and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union. © Ahmad Al-Rubaye /AFP / Getty Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights The Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights is a new initiative to develop ‘civilian-led monitoring’ of violations of international humanitarian law or human rights, to pursue legal and political accountability for those responsible for such violations, and to develop the practice of civilian rights.
    [Show full text]