The Road Ahead: Progress and Challenges in Iraq
Harvard International Review › Vol. 30 Nbr. 1, April 2008
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Summary
In recent months, top officials in the US government have been calling attention to the reported progress in Iraq. According to current data, positive trends do in fact exist. The situation in Iraq is hardly good; it is simply much better than it was last year. But the stakes in achieving a semblance of stability in Iraq are so high for the region and the world that even those who do not support this administration should welcome the favorable developments. The "surge" of 30,000 additional US troops into Iraq beginning in early 2007 has been a key factor in the significant reduction in violence in Iraq over the past 8 months. Casualties for foreign and Iraqi security forces are starting to decrease as well. On the political front, events in late 2007 and early 2008 suggest that Iraqis are beginning to recognize that the political process does not have to be a zero-sum game, though improvement has been uneven and many fundamental questions remain unanswered.
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The Road Ahead: Progress and Challenges in Iraq
In recent months, top officials in the US government have been calling attention to the reported progress in Iraq. According to current data, positive trends do in fact exist. This is not meant to congratulate the Bush administration-whatever success the surge is having now makes one wonder what might have been possible had we followed the advice of General Eric Shinseki and others who counseled a robust invasion and occupation force from the start. The situation in Iraq is hardly good; it is simply much better than it was last year. But the stakes in achieving a semblance of stability in Iraq are so high for the region and the world that even those who do not support this administration should welcome the favorable developments.
The fact is that trend lines in Iraq are headed in the right direction. The "surge" of US forces in early 2007 has fostered real improvements in...See the full content of this document
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