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.

Every Kurdish official, foreign businessman, or diplomat, knows that regional leader Masud Barzani and his immediate family have far greater power than Kurdistan’s constitution indicates.

As a bloody insurgency continues to ravage Iraq, it is vital that Sunni, Shia, and Kurds put aside sectarian divisions and work together to lay a solid foundation for a future Iraq in its new constitution. Will the Iraqi National Assembly succeed in framing a constitution before the August 15...

More than three decades after the Revolution of 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army and the IRGC remain entangled in a rivalry which the Army — should the hitherto trend continue — is bound to lose.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE WEB CAST VIDEO IS IN TWO PARTS. THE SECOND HALF OF THE VIDEO IS AVAILABLE BY CLICKING ON THE RELATED LINKS SECTION TITLED VIDEO PART TWO.

In October 2002, AEI began a conference series entitled, “The Day After: Planning for a Post-Saddam Iraq,” which raised...

Syria has always been among the Middle East's most repressive regimes. Any hope that Bashar al-Assad would usher in reform were naïve to begin with, the stuff of diplomats' fantasies. The question of what might come after Assad is a difficult one for American diplomats who have spent far more time trying to engage Assad and his functionaries than in reaching out to the Syrian opposition.

The Iraqi political process's best chance for success lies in respecting the Iraqi prime minister's decision to deny populist temptations and focus on the tough reforms ahead.

Registration for this event is now closed due to an overwhleming response. Members of the media may contact Andrew Pappas at 202.862.4870 or apappas@aei.org. Walk-in registrations may not be accepted.

In the last year, Iraqis successfully elected a transitional government and overwhelmingly approved a new constitution....