Iraq's Slow, Steady Political Progress
Iraq's new parliament convened Monday, but bargaining on a coalition government continues. The United States can facilitate, but not push, the outcome, says CFR's Brett McGurk.
See more in Iraq, Nation Building
Brett H. McGurk is an international affairs fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Recently an international affairs fellow in residence, he focused his research on legal and policy issues related to complex international negotiations, as well as current U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan. Brett was also a resident fellow for the fall 2009 semester at Harvard University, where he lectured on the role of the U.S. Supreme Court and the National Security Council since September 11, 2001.
He served on the National Security Council staff of President George W. Bush (2005-2009), first as director for Iraq and then as special assistant to the president and senior director for Iraq and Afghanistan, and President Barack Obama, as a special advisor. During the Obama administration, he also served as a senior advisor to Ambassador Ryan Crocker and then Ambassador Christopher Hill in Baghdad. In 2007 and 2008 he was the lead U.S. negotiator on agreements with the Iraqi government that set the conditions for a withdrawal of U.S. forces and built the foundation for bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States. For this assignment he received the Distinguished Honor Award from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the highest award the Secretary can bestow on a civilian not serving in the
State Department.
He is a former Supreme Court law clerk, clerking for the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist from 2001 to 2002, and in 2004-05 served as an attorney with the Coalition Provisional Authority and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, focusing on issues of constitutional reform, elections, and government formation.
Brett holds a BA from the University of Connecticut and a JD from Columbia University, where he served as a senior editor of the Columbia Law Review.
Iraq's new parliament convened Monday, but bargaining on a coalition government continues. The United States can facilitate, but not push, the outcome, says CFR's Brett McGurk.
See more in Iraq, Nation Building
During Afghan President Karzai's visit to Washington this week, it's important the White House reassure him and the Afghan public of the U.S. commitment to long-term success in Afghanistan, says CFR's Brett McGurk.
See more in Afghanistan, International Peace and Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
A judicial ruling in Iraq could delay the formation of a new government until the fall, increasing the risk of a planned U.S. drawdown of troops by the end of August, says CFR's Brett McGurk.
The U.S. should consider postponing its planned August pullout from Iraq for several months to help maintain stability as post-election political jockeying and opportunistic violence by al-Qaeda in Iraq play themselves out, writes CFR Iraq expert Brett McGurk.
Brett H. McGurk discusses the legality of drone attacks.
See more in Wars and Warfare, Rule of Law, U.S. Strategy and Politics
Iraq's security forces performed especially well during parliamentary elections but a big test looms in the months ahead as votes are counted and Iraqi factions try to form a government, says CFR's Brett McGurk.
Meghan O'Sullivan, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Brett McGurk, International Affairs fellow in residence at the Council on Foreign Relations, discuss the upcoming March 2010 Iraqi Parliamentary elections.
CFR's Meghan O'Sullivan and Brett McGurk say the fracturing of Iraqi political coalitions make the upcoming parliamentary elections more complicated as well as a possibly healthy step in the country's evolution.
See more in Middle East, Iraq, Elections
Reports of Sunnis being banned from Iraq's March 7 elections are a reminder of the dangerous fault lines in Iraqi politics, which the United States can best influence with support rather than interference, says CFR's Brett McGurk.
See more in Iraq, Elections, Public Diplomacy
Brett H. McGurk says lessons from the success of the surge in Iraq should be applied to Afghanistan.
See more in Afghanistan, Iraq, Wars and Warfare
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