Iraq After America: Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance

More than a decade after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, most studies of the conflict focus on the twin questions of whether the United States should have entered the country in 2003 and whether it should have exited in 2011, but few have examined the new Iraqi state and society on its own merits. This is especially disconcerting in light of the recent crisis with the Islamic State.

In his book, Iraq After America: Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance, U.S. Army Col. Joel Rayburn notes that the authoritarianism, sectarianism, and Islamist resistance that dominate Iraq’s post-U.S. political order have created a toxic political and social brew, preventing Iraq’s political elite from resolving the fundamental roots of conflict that have wracked that country before and since 2003. Rayburn also examines key aspects of the U.S. legacy in Iraq, analyzing what it means for the United States and others that, after more than a decade of conflict, Iraq’s communities—and its political class in particular—have not yet found a way to live together in peace.

New America is pleased to welcome Col. Rayburn for a discussion of his book, the political trends that have emerged in Iraq since 2003, and what they means for the country, the region, and the United States.

Featuring Col. Joel Rayburn Author, Iraq After America: Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance Senior Military Fellow, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University and Peter Bergen Director, International Security Program, New America.