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.

A Council on Foreign Relations meeting on President Richard Haass's new book, War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars.

Listen to CFR President Richard N. Haass discuss his new book, War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars, with educators as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.

Learn more about CFR's Academic Initiative.

Iraq is currently in the early stages of a negotiated end to an intense ethnosectarian war. As such, there are several contingencies in which recent, mostly positive trends in Iraq could be reversed, threatening U.S. national interests. This Center for Preventive Action Contingency Planning Memorandum by Stephen Biddle assesses four interrelated scenarios in Iraq that could derail the prospects for peace and stability in the short to medium term and posits concrete policy options to limit U.S. vulnerability to the possibility of such reversals.

Richard N. Haass argues that the second Iraq war was a war of choice - and a blunder.

Listen to CFR President Richard N. Haass discuss his new book, War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars.

CFR President Richard N. Haass, whose latest book explores President George W. Bush's "war of choice" in Iraq, says he is concerned that President Obama may be turning the Afghanistan war into a "war of choice" too.

From the May/June 2009 issue of Foreign Affairs: The right war in Iraq, and the wrong one.

A new wave of sectarian violence has broken out in Iraq as the United States shifts its military and strategic focus to Afghanistan. Analysts warn new tensions could complicate withdrawal plans.

Lydia Khalil argues that President Obama need not lecture Iraqi leaders in order to convey U.S. support for Iraq's independence and sovereignty.

Lydia Khalil argues that domestic drivers in Iraq, rather than overhauled military or diplomatic strategy from without, will shape the nation's stability.

President Obama says ending the war in Iraq will require a new definition of victory, and experts add that the United States should expect no peace dividend in its budget anytime soon.

In this article, Ned Parker describes the ruling style of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the implications for the future of democracy in Iraq.