The government of Nouri al-Maliki faces a number of challenges in the coming year, including strong opposition from Sunnis, Kurds, and fellow Shiites, says CFR's Meghan O'Sullivan.

The mood in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk -- the three largest cities in Iraqi Kurdistan -- is newly buoyant these days, and with good reason.

Blake Clayton says Iraq is in a unique position to help take the edge off a global oil market under serious strain, but time will tell whether the country will achieve its lofty goals—or if they will remain a mirage.

Examining the decline of violence in Iraq at the end of 2007, Stephen Biddle, Jeffrey A. Friedman, and Jacob Shapiro argue, "A synergistic interaction between the surge and the [Sunni] Awakening was required for violence to drop as quickly and widely as it did: both were necessary; neither was sufficient."

In Newsweek, Leslie H. Gelb weaves surprising lessons on when to make war and peace from interviews with Ryan Crocker, former Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

In this Contingency Planning Memorandum, Douglas Ollivant argues that the United States has a significant stake in helping Iraq overcome major threats to its stability—namely, the prospect of renewed ethno-sectarian violence or a breakdown of constitutional order.

Debates about the possibility of containing a nuclear Iran often hinge on judgments of whether the regime there is rational. But as a wealth of recently released Iraqi documents about Saddam Hussein's tumultuous reign in Iraq show, even an arguably rational leader can be unreasonable -- and very hard to deter.

Iraq is hardly the failed state that Ned Parker portrayed in these pages, argues Antony Blinken, the U.S. vice president's national security adviser. Norman Ricklefs sees Iraq's politics becoming more moderate and less sectarian. Parker replies that despite these improvements, Baghdad still violates human rights and ignores the rule of law.

Stephen Biddle, Jeffrey A. Friedman, and Jacob N. Shapiro examine the reasons for the reversal in 2007 from years of intense bloodshed in Iraq to almost four years of relative calm since then.

Ongoing violence and corruption in Iraq since the U.S. military pullout could augur a return to full-on sectarian strife and continued poor governance, says CFR's Ned Parker.

The State Department released this joint statement by the U.S. and Iraq, at the first meeting of the US - Iraq Defense and Security Cooperation Joint Coordinating Committee on May 24, 2012.

Elliott Abrams explains the grounds for an Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear weapons program, and for American support of such an attack.

The Arab League summit in Baghdad is focused on Syria, but events on the ground appear to have already outpaced the regional group, says CFR's Mohamad Bazzi.

Meghan L. O'Sullivan discusses the Arab League summit convening in Bhaghdad.

Ned Parker discusses his Foreign Affairs article from the March/April 2012 issue, "The Iraq We Left Behind--Welcome to the World's Next Failed State," and provides insights from on-the-ground experience in Iraq.

This week's Arab League Summit in Baghdad presents questions about the organization's role in a changed Middle East, the durability of Assad's regime in Syria, and Iraq's security and regional ties, says CFR's Ned Parker.

When faced with a rising tide of violence, largely caused by their own policy mistakes, the U.S. occupation embarked on the reconstitution of an Iraqi military. The resultant Iraqi security forces, under the control of Nuri al-Maliki, are today on their way to occupying the same role as the armed forces of the Ba'athist regime, writes Toby Dodge.

Sectarian divisions have boosted al-Qaeda in Iraq, a longstanding threat to Iraqi stability. This Backgrounder profiles the group and discusses its growing role in the unrest in neighboring Syria.

UN Security Council Resolution 699 was adopted on June 17, 1991. The resolution gave the IAEA and the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) authority to conduct inspections for weapons in Iraq and destroy, remove or render the weapons harmless.

Ned Parker, CFR's Edward R. Murrow press fellow, discusses the current situation in Iraq and the recent escalation of sectarian violence.