It is unclear if classifying the conflict in Iraq as a civil war will have serious ramifications for U.S. military strategy there or, for that matter, U.S. domestic politics.

Phebe Marr, a prominent historian of modern Iraq, has just returned from Baghdad, and finds the situation there has deteriorated. She says the sectarian rift is the top problem facing the new governm…

Iraq’s first permanent government faces a host of challenges in the months ahead, from fighting corruption to supplying water and electricity to amending Iraq’s constitution.

Iraq’s Shiite leadership finally selects a candidate for prime minister to replace the embattled Ibrahim al-Jaafari. But experts are not impressed with the new candidate’s credentials.