Middle East expert Joost Hiltermann says Iraq appears headed for an uncertain, and potentially violent, political season with no clear dominant faction emerging ahead of January parliamentary elections.

Tara McKelvey profiles the Washington Post's special military correspondent, Thomas E. Ricks, and looks at the ways in which debates on counterinsurgency policy within the media blur accurate coverage of war strategy and purpose.

Veteran reporter Jane Arraf says the massive truck bombings of August 19 in Baghdad have shaken the people and government. She says the United States may have to take a new look at the policy of leaving security under Iraqi control in urban centers.

Micah Zenko discusses President Bush's deferred attack on Khurmal, Iraq, before the 2003 war.

A report detailing the structure of the Kurdistan Regional Government, its major political parties, and the dynamics of the upcoming election.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Barack Obama struck a note of cooperation in their latest meeting. But some Western observers worry the Obama administration is not focused enough on Iraq's simmering problems.

Daniel Senor argues, "there is pressure building within the Pentagon to cut forces in Iraq even faster than planned to send more troops to Afghanistan."

U.S. officials used to worry that Iraq's prime minister was too weak. That was then.

Daniel P. Serwer, who served as executive director of the Baker-Hamilton Commission on Iraq, says the "serious" crisis between Kurdistan and the central Iraqi government "needs to be resolved" to some degree before the U.S. troops leave."

Iran's foreign policy is often portrayed in sensationalistic terms, but in reality it is a rational strategy meant to ensure the survival of the Islamic Republic against what Tehran thinks is an existential threat posed by the United States.

The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities was a relatively easy benchmark to meet, analysts say. Many are unsure whether the country can withstand a complete U.S. pullout in less than two years.

In this opinion piece Jawad Al Bolani, the interior minister of Iraq, writes that the June 30th withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq's major cities is the start of a highly uncertain period for Iraqi democracy rather than a historical endpoint to be celebrated.

As U.S. combat forces begin to withdraw from Iraq's cities, expert Kenneth M. Pollack says he remains "very concerned" about the political situation in Iraq. He stresses the need for the "continued attention" of the United States to bring about a stable Iraq.

This report outlines what steps the U.S. should take presently in order to secure a positive relationship with Iraq for the future.

Richard N. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the United States and Iraq involving the two presidents Bush and Saddam Hussein, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made, what it should seek, and how it should be pursued.

Listen to Richard N. Haass speak about his book War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars, which details how and why the two wars resulted from two different policymaking processes, approaches to U.S. foreign policy, and presidential personalities.

Watch Richard N. Haass speak about his book War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars, which details how and why the two wars resulted from two different policymaking processes, approaches to U.S. foreign policy, and presidential personalities.

Anthony H. Cordesman argues in a Washington Post op-ed that the United States runs the risk of making Iraq "the forgotten war," which could have dire consequences for the country's post-withdrawal prospects for peace.