Iraq

The uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have been accompanied by horrific levels of violence, particularly in Libya, Yemen and Syria. Post-authoritarian transitions will require a focus not only on building the institutions needed to sustain democracies, but also a focus on the myriad issues associated with post-conflict reconstruction.Please join Ambassador William B. Taylor, special coordinator for Middle East Transitions at the U.S. Department of State and Ellen Laipson, President and CEO of the Stimson Center for the second in a series of breakfast briefings organized by the United States Institute of Peace in partnership with the Defense Education Forum of the Reserve Officers Association.

Under Saddam Hussein, a complex web of intelligence and security institutions protected the regime and repressed the Iraqi people.  Underfunded and mismanaged, the Iraqi police were least among those institutions and unprepared to secure the streets when Coalition Forces arrived in 2003 and disbanded the rest of the security apparatus.  Iraq’s police forces have made important strides, and some 400,000 Iraqi police have been trained and stationed across the country.  However, with the U.S. drawdown in Iraq, the future of the Iraqi police and U.S. police assistance is uncertain.  On February 29, the United States Institute of Peace and the Institute for the Study of War will co-host a panel of distinguished experts who will discuss the history of the Iraqi police and the U.S. police assistance program in Iraq. 

USIP's Security Sector Governance (SSG) Center focuses on a critical element of sustainable peace: developing security forces and supervising institutions that are effective, legitimate, apolitical, and accountable to the citizens they are sworn to protect.

In Iraq, "Salam Shabab" is the very first peacebuilding television program depicting the real life story of Iraqi youth. The series showcases not only a population that is often marginalized, but also the powerful desire and capacity of Iraqi youth to bring peace to their communities. The afternoon featured an exclusive screening of one episode from Season 1 of Salam Shabab, which aired in full on Iraq on Al Iraqiya and throughout the region on Space Power. A Q&A session with the show's producers followed the screening. USIP then welcomed a panel of dynamic young cultural leaders and activists from across the Middle East to discuss the role of youth in peacebuilding in the region. The evening concluded with a live performance by Iraqi pop band UTN1.

USIP’s Sheldon Himelfarb, director of USIP’s Center of Innovation for Science, Technology and Peacebuilding, and Andrew Robertson, a senior program officer with the center, discuss the latest developments on technology, science and peacebuilding – and where the new field is going.

Civilian health, health care workers, and health facilities disproportionately suffer in countries experiencing severe instability, but global health donors have yet to make developing health systems in such states a priority. Doing so could both make populations healthier and contribute to state legitimacy.

The Polish government makes use of USIP training to help key figures from Afghanistan and Tunisia lead their own countries’ transitions.

The Polish government makes use of USIP training to help key figures from Afghanistan and Tunisia lead their own countries’ transitions.

USIP's Steven Heydemann moderates a discussion about the Arab Awakening with the Institute's Stephen Hadley and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Marwan Muasher.