Saddam Hussein’s Iraq shared many of its worst features with the Soviet empire, combining institutionalized political tyranny and the distortions of a dysfunctional, command economy. Consequently, in the aftermath of Saddam’s removal from power, many of the same problems and dilemmas that beset post-Communist Europe during the 1990s—ethnic tensions, economic...

Far from winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis, reinstating Hussein loyalists antagonized them.

This vision of relations will seem palatable to Americans and Iraqis who want to believe that all will be well after the withdrawal of U.S. troops. But the image is a mirage.

President Obama’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops is the mother of all disasters.

Acknowledging mistakes should not mean accepting defeat. Rather, correcting mistakes can better enable victory.

The Coalition Provisional Authority should not allow violence to win concessions. Nor will de-Baathification appease Iraq's Arab Sunnis, many of whom also suffered under the Baath party.

The White House should abandon its ham-fisted and condescending Sunni strategy and begin treating Iraq like a unified, sovereign nation. Left alone, the Iraqis will do the right thing.

A review of James Fallows's Blind into Baghdad.