home > by publication type > must reads > Newsweek: How To Lose Iraq: Grants of immunity have a long and unpleasant history in the Middle East, having caused serious crises.
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| Author: | Karl E. Meyer |
|---|
July 7, 2008
No word better sums up the dangers the United States faces in Iraq today than a four-letter acronym you've probably never heard of: SOFA. Several decades ago, SOFA helped America lose Iran. Now it has become the biggest sticking point between Washington and Baghdad.
SOFA stands for Status of Forces Agreement, a type of compact that governs the treatment of U.S. personnel abroad. With U.S. troops scattered around the globe, these agreements are critically important, and there are some 90 of them in force, each tailored to the special requirements of the host nation. The Bush administration now wants to add Iraq to this list, in order to help formalize the long-term U.S. security presence there.
In The Closing of the American Border, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
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