Security and Strategy

USAID’s Community Stabilization Program (CSP) in Iraq was designed as a non-lethal counterinsurgency program that aimed to reduce incentives for participating in violent conflict by utilizing job-creation programs and engaging the youth. This event considered the following questions and more:  Was the CSP effective as a counter-insurgency tool in Iraq?  Does the CSP foster local ownership and sustainability?

The Asia Foundation will release findings from its fifth public opinion poll, "Afghanistan in 2009: A Survey of the Afghan People," the most comprehensive survey conducted in all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces.

In the aftermath of violent conflict in countries such as Nepal, public distrust of the police can undermine justice and security sector reform efforts and weaken the rule of law.  How can justice and security sector reform be approached in a way that strengthens the rule of law?

Daniel P. Serwer, who has supervised the United States Institute of Peace's (USIP) efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans, Haiti and Sudan, will now lead the growing Centers of Innovation at the Institute, overseeing a wide range of cutting edge projects. Serwer, who was the founding vice president of USIP's Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, will now focus full-time on innovation in rule of law, religion and peacemaking, sustainable economies, media and conflict, science, technology, security sector reform, and other areas related to peacebuilding.

As concerns grow about Bosnia’s post-war recovery, USIP presents its fourth report on recent developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and various options to prevent a return to violence there. Author Jim O'Brien, who served as the presidential envoy for the Balkans in the 1990s, proposes a two-part strategy that includes stripping Bosnia's political parties of their nationalist appeal and speeding up the European Union accession process for the Balkans region.

Dr. David Kilcullen and Dr. Andrew Wilder explore the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and the relationship between successful counter-insurgency operations and state-building efforts.

Speaking at an exclusive event at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on July 23, 2009, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki kept the door open for continuing the U.S. military presence in his country beyond 2011, when the current Status of Forces Agreement expires. “If Iraqi forces need more training and support, we will reexamine the agreement at that time, based on our own national needs,” the prime minister said through a translator, as he addressed nearly 100 audience members at USIP headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister, Rafe Al-Eissawi, on June 10 spoke at a public event at the Institute to deliver his primary message: the U.S. and Iraq need “to move from [a military-based] relationship towards the strategic framework relationship.”