Two decades after the US invasion of Iraq, the civil war of the years that followed and the ravages of the Islamic State have faded into the background. Yet the country remains shaken by internal cleavages, torn apart by corruption, and vulnerable to influence operations by external actors. Overcoming economic crisis and infrastructural shortcomings could contribute to greater
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As a result, Washington policymakers barreled in 20 years ago with no real awareness of what would happen. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, we should reflect on what lessons the United States may have gleaned from the experience and whether such lessons will deter any future military operations to effect regime change. By all accounts, the invasio
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Introduction At no time since the founding of the modern nation of Iraq in 1921 hasthe country faced a greater set of deep-seated and intractable challengesto its fragile state–society relations. In June 2014 the Sunni Arab terror-ist network known in English as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)conducted a series of highly coordinated and brazen attacks across part
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Edited by Amatzia Baram, Achim Rohde, and Ronen Zeidel Acknowledgment This book is the product of cooperation between Palgrave Macmillan and the Center for Iraq Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel. We are grateful to Ms. Farideh Koohi-Kamali and Ms. Robyn Curtis of the editorial staff of Palgrave Macmillan for their guidance and effective management. The Center fo
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Having survived Islamic State, Assyrian capital is under threat once again The Tabira Gate, which stands at the centre of Ashur, suffered 70% damage when Isis attacked the city in 2015AUIS Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Just two short months ago, the reopening of Ashur was celebrated by local Iraqis singing and dancing in traditional regalia. Many had fled t
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