Iraq

Life by a Thousand Cuts

The United States' defense-spending habit has been out of control for years. Will it ever change?

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JULY 7, 2010

The Sheikh Who Got Away

How the United States got Lebanon's leading Shiite cleric dead wrong -- and missed a chance to change the Middle East forever.

BY DAVID KENNER | JULY 6, 2010

Abdullah's No Reformer

Those who predicted the Saudi monarch would bring real change to the kingdom had it wrong. His real goal has been to tighten his family's grip on power.

BY TOBY C. JONES | JUNE 28, 2010

Reality Check: How Bad Are They?

Worlds apart in language, culture, and daily routine, the top failed states still share a quality of life that is at best difficult and at worst fatal for the majority of the population.

JULY/AUGUST 2010

Postcards from Hell

Images from the world's most failed states.

CAPTIONS BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | JULY/AUGUST 2010

Actually, It's Mountains

Sometimes the toughest obstacles are the naturally occurring ones.

BY ROBERT D. KAPLAN | JULY/AUGUST 2010

Zoopolitics

How caged animals became a tool of statecraft.

BY CHARLES HOMANS | MAY 26, 2010

Left Behind in Iraq

Obama's withdrawal strategy offers no serious solutions for America's Iraqi employees, who are likely to enter the war's worst days once the United States is gone.

BY KIRK W. JOHNSON | MAY 18, 2010

Iran's Kurdish Question

The Islamic Republic's recent execution of five Kurds has sparked outrage in northern Iraq, and renewed unrest at home.

BY KAWE QORAISHY, OF INSIDEIRAN | MAY 17, 2010

Springtime for Iran

Gridlock in Baghdad and the coming withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq is creating a mile-wide opening for Tehran.

BY MICHAEL KNIGHTS | MAY 6, 2010

The U.N’s Go-To Guy

Samantha Power's new film offers a gut-wrenching portrait of the late Sergio Vieira de Mello, a man whose loss the United Nations is still struggling to overcome today.

BY BLAKE HOUNSHELL | APRIL 20, 2010

Iraqiyya's Path to Power

Iraq's post-election wrangling has made it unlikely that former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi can reap the benefits of his election day victory. But if he plays his cards right, he just may have a shot.

BY AHMED ALI | APRIL 8, 2010

Is This the Future of Journalism?

Why Wikileaks matters.

BY JONATHAN STRAY | APRIL 7, 2010

Reading Saddam's Fortune

A long-time Middle East correspondent recalls his bizarre experience of the Iraq invasion in the house of a Yezidi prince -- and meeting a fortune-teller who only revealed to him that his future was not in journalism.

BY HUGH POPE | APRIL 5, 2010

Blind Man's Bluff

The truth about Iran is that we haven't got a clue how the Islamic Republic would respond to an attack.

BY BILAL Y. SAAB | MARCH 30, 2010

Iraq's Election Was Free and Fair

Despite the complaints from some quarters, Iraq's young democracy is headed in the right direction.

BY LESLIE CAMPBELL | MARCH 30, 2010

The Torture Commission We Really Need

It’s not enough just to understand what went wrong in the Justice Department. We need to start fixing it, too.

BY DAVID KAYE | MARCH 25, 2010

Interview: António Guterres

From Darfur to Afghanistan, the U.N.’s point man on refugees says, the world’s conflicts are getting “more worrisome and more difficult to solve.”

INTERVIEW BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | MARCH 23, 2010

How Iraqi Oil Is Changing the World

OPEC could be in for a serious shake-up.

BY STEPHEN GLAIN | MARCH 17, 2010

What the Neocons Got Right

Believe it or not, they made a few good calls.

BY STEVEN A. COOK | MARCH 11, 2010

Crocker Looks Back

A candid interview from the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq on the recent elections, the Iraqi tendency toward authoritarianism, and President Barack Obama's proposed drawdown, which, Crocker admits, makes him "nervous."

INTERVIEW BY DAVID KENNER | MARCH 10, 2010

Dancing for Their Lives

Making an undercover visit to an Iraqi expat nightclub in Syria, where the refugee crisis's illicit economy is on full display.

BY DEBORAH AMOS | MARCH 9, 2010

Iraq At Eye Level

As the dust settles on Iraq's pivotal election, some of the most prominent Western journalists in the country sound off on what it means for Iraq's future and the U.S. role in the region.

Edited by DAVID KENNER | MARCH 8, 2010

The Conventional Wisdom Isn't Always Wrong

Five things you think are true that are.

BY JOSHUA KEATING | MARCH 5, 2010

Photo Essay: The Real Hurt Locker

A look at the actual people behind the controversial Oscar-winning film.

BY KAYVAN FARZANEH | MARCH 5, 2010

Iraq's Elected Criminals

Some of the very people involved in kidnapping my father from his home three years ago might be elected to office on Sunday. Iraq can do better.

BY ALI AL-SAFFAR | MARCH 4, 2010

The Definitive Guide to the Iraqi Elections

"The Land of Two Rivers" is also the land of thousands of aspiring political leaders. Foreign Policy takes you inside the diverse parties, coalitions, and sects, from the center of power to its outermost fringes, that make up Iraq's political mosaic.

BY DAVID KENNER, ANDREW SWIFT | MARCH 4, 2010

Bipartisan Spring

Washington may be deeply polarized on domestic matters, but when it comes to foreign affairs, a remarkable consensus is taking shape.

BY ROBERT KAGAN | MARCH 3, 2010

The Middle East's Dangerous Equilibrium

President Obama's first year of "engagement" has yielded little more than simmering crises and a frustrating diplomatic stalemate. But for all its pitfalls, the United States cannot quit the Arab world.

BY PETER HARLING | FEBRUARY 23, 2010

Planet War

From the bloody civil wars in Africa to the rag-tag insurgiences in Southeast Asia, 33 conflicts are raging around the world today, and it’s often innocent civilians who suffer the most.

BY KAYVAN FARZANEH, ANDREW SWIFT, PETER WILLIAMS | FEBRUARY 22, 2010