Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Search

Home ▶ Events

In a Consequential Year for Iraq, What’s Next?

U.S. and Iraqi Perspectives on the Path Ahead in the Biden Era

Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 / Time: 9:00am - 10:00am EDT

Center: Middle East North Africa Center

Read the event coverage
Share This
Print the Page

As Iraq marks the 18th anniversary of the 2003 U.S.-led war that set in motion consequential changes, the country is eyeing what a Biden administration might bring while the country prepares for national elections in October. Meanwhile, His Holiness Pope Francis made a historic visit to Iraq earlier this month and injected much needed messages of hope, coexistence and peace into an environment dominated by frustrations with the pandemic and its financial consequences, public grievances with governance, continued U.S.-Iran tensions and attacks on coalition forces, and the ongoing threat of ISIS. 

On March 23, USIP held a discussion of key developments in Iraq and the outlook for U.S.-Iraq relations under the Biden administration. The panel shared their insights on the Pope’s first-ever visit to Iraq, examined the country’s current challenges, and explored areas where policymakers and the international community can support Iraq.

Continue the conversation on Twitter with #WhatsNextIraq.

Speakers

Lise Grande, opening remarks 
President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

Ambassador Matthew Tueller
Ambassador of the United States to Iraq 

Ambassador Fareed Yasseen 
Ambassador of Iraq to the United States

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman
Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the United States 

Sarhang Hamasaeed, moderator
Director, Middle East Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace 

Latest Publications

Earth’s best defenders are Indigenous. They pay a price: violence.

Earth’s best defenders are Indigenous. They pay a price: violence.

Thursday, June 8, 2023

By: Binalakshmi Nepram

Little noted by the world, warfare in India’s northeastern state of Manipur this spring has killed hundreds of Indigenous people and uprooted more than 35,000 residents. This violence along the India-Myanmar border fits a global pattern, also little noted: For decades, some 80 percent of human conflicts have smoldered in the “biodiversity hotspots” where our planet’s flora and fauna are most threatened by battles for resources and wealth — and where Indigenous peoples suffer the violence while protecting humanity’s common ecological heritage. We should strengthen the world’s inadequate public attention and policies on this crisis, and 2023 offers a chance to do so.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Environment

The Taliban’s Successful Opium Ban is Bad for Afghans and the World

The Taliban’s Successful Opium Ban is Bad for Afghans and the World

Thursday, June 8, 2023

By: William Byrd, Ph.D.

The Taliban have done it again: implementing a nearly complete ban against cultivation of opium poppy — Afghanistan’s most important agricultural product — repeating their similarly successful 2000-2001 prohibition on the crop. But the temptation to view the current ban in an overly positive light — as an important global counter-narcotics victory — must be avoided. This is particularly true given the state of Afghanistan’s economy and the country’s humanitarian situation. Indeed, the ban imposes huge economic and humanitarian costs on Afghans and it is likely to further stimulate an outflow of refugees. It may even result in internal challenges for the Taliban itself. And, in the long run, it will not have lasting counter-narcotics benefits within Afghanistan or globally.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Economics

Three Takeaways on U.S.-China Relations After the Shangri-La Summit

Three Takeaways on U.S.-China Relations After the Shangri-La Summit

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

By: Rosie Levine;  Alex Stephenson

Defense ministers from around the world gathered in Singapore last weekend for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, a forum for discussing security challenges in Asia and an opportunity for high-ranking security officials to engage in bilateral talks. However, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not meet with his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu. Beijing suspended formal military-to-military meetings last August following then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Since then, U.S.-China tensions have only ratcheted up, particularly following revelations this February that a Chinese surveillance balloon was hovering over U.S. territory.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy;  Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

Challenging China’s Grip on Critical Minerals Can Be a Boon for Africa’s Future

Challenging China’s Grip on Critical Minerals Can Be a Boon for Africa’s Future

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

By: Edward A. Burrier;  Thomas P. Sheehy

Demand for the critical minerals powering the world’s clean-energy technologies, consumer goods and defense applications is skyrocketing. These metals are what the modern economy runs on: we need them for our phones, electric vehicles and satellites, and so much more. Forecasts estimate that in the coming decades, the world will need many times more cobalt, copper, lithium and manganese, among other minerals, than what is currently being produced. .

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Economics;  Environment

The Growing Threat of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and South Asia

The Growing Threat of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and South Asia

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

By: Abdul Sayed;  Tore Refslund Hamming

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, counterterrorism experts were alarmed at the possible resurgence of Islamist terrorist groups within the country. This Special Report lays out why those concerns, particularly about the regional Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), were well-founded. The report discusses the likely trajectory of ISKP’s activities in South Asia and recommends measures to minimize potential threats to the West and build regional resilience to extremism.

Type: Special Report

Violent Extremism

View All Publications