CIAO DATE: 08/04

CDI’s Iraq Reconstruction Update

Dr. Michael Donovan

Center for Defense Information

August 2003

Iraq Reconstruction Update No. 4: Crossroads

Iraq is at a crossroads, a fact that is changed but little by the Dec. 15, 2003, capture of Saddam Hussein. The good news is that Saddam’s capture will encourage some of those Iraqis who have thus far sat on the fence to declare their colors without fear of the dictator’s return. The bad news is that the same correlation of opposition forces that existed in Iraq before Saddam’s arrest is likely to continue after his capture . . .

Iraq Reconstruction Update No. 3: Competing Visions

Occupied Iraq is not a place that encourages consensus. Competing visions about the state of affairs on the ground and what the future Iraq should look like abound among outside observers, the international community, and Iraqis themselves.

Iraq Reconstruction Update No. 2: The Search for Legitimacy

Legitimacy, or the lack there of, is a problem for everyone in Iraq at the moment. . . .

CDI’s Iraq Reconstruction Update

Introducing the Iraqi Reconstruction Update , CDI’s new occasional series chronicling ongoing efforts to physically and politically reconstruct Iraq in the wake of the U.S.–led invasion. The Update will report on the efforts of the United States and other countries to establish security in Iraq and the region, nation–build on the ruins of Saddam Hussein’s regime, and promote democracy in an Arab state in the heart of the Middle East. The success or failure of these endeavors will have wide–ranging strategic implications for America’s relationship with the Arab/Islamic world, the war on terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the price of oil, and the political stability of U.S. friends and enemies alike. The Iraqi Reconstruction Update will provide timely analysis of events as they unfold and explore the many obstacles that could hinder the creation of a prosperous Iraq and a peaceful region.

Iraq Reconstruction Update No. 1: A Rough Start

Having assumed responsibility for the physical and political reconstruction of an Arab state in the heart of the Middle East, the United States has yet to clearly articulate how this task is to be accomplished. Its success or failure will have wide–ranging strategic implications for America’s relationship with the Arab/Islamic world, the war on terrorism, WMD proliferation, oil prices, and the political stability of friends and enemies alike. CDI Research Analyst Dr. Michael Donovan argues that the stakes for the United States have never been higher.