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Reconstructing Iraq: Insights, Challenges, and Missions for Military Forces in a Post-Conflict Scenario

Authored by Dr. Conrad C. Crane, Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.

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+[history] +[operational phases] +[stability operations] +[nation building] +[roles] +[missions] +[non-governmental organizations] +[international organizations] +[interagency] +[iraq] +[occupation] +[reconstruction] +[iraq] +[Terrill] +[Crane]

Brief Synopsis

In October 2002, the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute, in coordination with the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff/G-3, initiated a study to analyze how American and coalition forces can best address the requirements that will necessarily follow operational victory in a war with Iraq. The objectives of the project were to determine and analyze probable missions for military forces in a post-Saddam Iraq; examine associated challenges; and formulate strategic recommendations for transferring responsibilities to coalition partners or civilian organizations, mitigating local animosity, and facilitating overall mission accomplishment in the war against terrorism. The study has much to offer planners and executors of operations to occupy and reconstruct Iraq, but also has many insights that will apply to achieving strategic objectives in any conflict after hostilities are concluded. The current war against terrorism has highlighted the danger posed by failed and struggling states. If this nation and its coalition partners decide to undertake the mission to remove Saddam Hussein, they will also have to be prepared to dedicate considerable time, manpower, and money to the effort to reconstruct Iraq after the fighting is over. Otherwise, the success of military operations will be ephemeral, and the problems they were designed to eliminate could return or be replaced by new and more virulent difficulties.

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Also by the Authors/Editor:

Lessons of the Iraqi De-Ba'athification Program for Iraq's Future and the Arab Revolutions
The Saudi-Iranian Rivalry and the Future of Middle East Security
The Conflicts in Yemen and U.S. National Security
Escalation and Intrawar Deterrence During Limited Wars in the Middle East
Regional Spillover Effects of the Iraq War
Jordanian National Security and the Future of Middle East Stability
The Evolution of U.S.-Turkish Relations in a Transatlantic Context
Kuwaiti National Security and the U.S.-Kuwaiti Strategic Relationship after Saddam

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