Operation Iraqi Freedom marked a watershed in the history of America’s engagement in the Middle East–the first time U.S. troops invaded an Arab country to depose its leader and overthrow its regime. Throughout the U.S.-led liberation and subsequent occupation of Iraq, the scholars of The Washington Institute provided in-depth, real-time analysis of the often painful learning curve traced by the coalition in its attempt to build a firm foundation for a new, post-Saddam Iraq. This anthology compiles the wartime insights of the Institute’s Iraq experts from a wide variety of sources, enriched with a series of new analytical essays that synthesize key political, military, and economic trends concerning America’s involvement in Iraq. Taken together, this volume serves as an essential reference for the critical sixteen months preceding the handover of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government–a period that may determine both the future of Iraq and America’s role in the wider Middle East for years to come.
