Brookings: Topics - Civil War

Pakistan's Punjab: Bruce Riedel on the New Jihadists

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Political violence in Pakistan is at its highest level in decades, with insurgent attacks on the rise and intensive government clashes with the Taliban in the country’s western provinces. In recent weeks in particular, attacks by Punjabi militant groups have increased dramatically. Bruce Riedel spoke with Newsweek's Andrew Bast and outlined this increasingly precarious situation in Pakistan as well as the prospects for future stability.

The Battle for Baghdad

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With renewed violence striking Iraq, Ken Pollack writes that the United States is still all that stands between the war-torn country and anarchy. Pollack argues that the United States should use its power and influence within Iraq to ensure that the country does not slide back into civil war.

At Long Last: Finally Peace for Sri Lanka

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On May 16, 2009, the Sri Lankan government announced that it had overrun the last insurgent stronghold and that 26 years of civil conflict had finally come to an end. Despite the end of the war, the humanitarian emergency continues. And, as Elizabeth Ferris argues, the underlying causes of the Tamils' demands—whether for autonomy or simply greater respect for their human rights—have yet to be addressed.

Mass Displacement Caused by Conflicts and One-Sided Violence

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Massive displacement of people within and across borders has become a defining feature of the post-cold war world. It is also a major feature of human insecurity in which genocide, terrorism, egregious human rights violations and appalling human degradation wreak havoc on civilians. Though there has been a critical shift in thinking at the international level with regards to forced displacement, Cohen and Deng argue that concepts of sovereignty as responsibility and the responsibility to protect remain far ahead of international willingness and capacity to enforce them.

The Deepening Humanitarian Crisis in Sri Lanka: An Update from the Field

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

April 20, 2009, 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM

On April 20, the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement will host a discussion offering different perspectives on the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka, moderated by Project co-director Elizabeth Ferris, and including representatives from the United Nations, US Department of State, Human Rights Watch, and the Point Pedro Institute.

Containing the Spillover from an Iraqi Civil War

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:11:31 GMT

Ken Pollack describes a new study in which the authors use the results of historical research to fashion a policy for the United States to try to contain civil war in Iraq.

Somalia's Civil War

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Following the recent U.S. air strike targeting a Somali militant, Vicki Huddleston warns that in order for the U.S. not to lose support of the African and international community "we must consider the costs and the benefits of our actions."

Avoiding the Emergence of Two Lebanons

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Hady Amr, The Daily Star (9/10/07

The Iraq War and the New Terrorist Threat Facing the Middle East and U.S.

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Testimony by Daniel Benjamin before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Armed Services Committee (7/31/07)

Stability in Iraq: A War We Just Might Win

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack (7/30/07)

America Must Pull Out of Iraq to Contain Civil War

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Bruce Riedel and Samuel Berger, Financial Times (7/23/07)

A Third Way: Alternatives for Iraq's Future

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Testimony by Daniel L. Byman before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Armed Services Committee (7/18/07)

Why the Iraq War Won't Engulf the Mideast

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Suzanne Maloney, Steven A. Cook and Ray Takeyh, International Herald Tribune (6/28/07)

Coping with Failure in Iraq

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Thursday, May 24, was a good day for George W. Bush. After four months of trying stare each other down over the Iraq War, Bush got his way when the Democratically controlled Congress passed a war funding bill without a deadline or timetable to begin the withdrawal of American troops. And at hastily called press conference to celebrate Bush's victory that day, a bird relieved himself on the president's jacket sleeve—a sign, many believe, of good luck.

A Diplomatic Offensive for Iraq

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In the spirit of a unified U.S. security strategy, Carlos Pascual and Larry Diamond offer a framework for near-term congressional action on hearings and appropriations to support a policy toward Iraq that is comprehensive and responsible.

The State of Iraq: An Update

Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

While the American and Iraqi troops for the so-called surge are nearly all in place, it's far too early to judge the effect. Still, given America's waning patience with the war and the bad circumstances that prevailed in Iraq when the surge began, optimism is hard to come by. Our latest chart of leading indicators, based on American and Iraqi government data and news reports, doesn't brighten the picture much.

Defeat's Killing Fields

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Some opponents of the Iraq war are toying with the idea of American defeat. A number of them are simply predicting it, while others advocate measures that would make it more likely. Lending intellectual respectability to all this is an argument that takes a strange comfort from the outcome of the Vietnam War. The defeat of the American enterprise in Indochina, it is said, turned out not to be as bad as expected. The United States recovered, and no lasting price was paid.

The Case for Soft Partition in Iraq

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

With President George W. Bush’s surge strategy fully implemented, several major offensives are now underway to root out insurgents and improve security conditions. Michael O'Hanlon and Edward Joseph conclude that the only hope for stabilizing Iraq may be a soft partition into Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni regions.

The Critical Battles: Political Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Iraq

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Carlos Pascual and Kenneth M. Pollack, The Washington Quarterly (Summer 2007)

Things Fall Apart : Containing the Spillover from an Iraqi Civil War

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Preventing spillover of the Iraqi conflict into neighboring states must be a top priority. In explaining how that can be accomplished, Daniel Byman and Kenneth Pollack draw on their own considerable expertise as well as relevant precedents.

President Bush Airs His Ideas about Iraq and Iran

Thu, 24 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Peter W. Rodman, NPR (5/24/07)

Achieving Stability in Iraq

Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Carlos Pascual, Radio Times (5/14/07)

Interim Report on the Surge in Iraq

Fri, 11 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Times (5/11/07)

Keeping the Lid On Iraq's Civil War

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Daniel Byman and Kenneth Pollack, The National Interest (May-June 2007)

Fighting A Ruthless Foe in Iraq

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Times (4/24/07)

Iraq Needs Study Group II

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Times (3/29/07)

A Brokered Peace: U.N. Mediation Is the Best Hope for a Political Settlement in Iraq

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Carlos Pascual, The Washington Post (3/27/07)

Q&A: Current Data on the Iraq War

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Michael E. O'Hanlon (3/19/07)

Granting Al-Qaeda's Wish for Iran

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Bruce Riedel, Washingtonpost.com (3/9/07)

Iraq Deserves One More Chance

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Wall Street Journal (3/1/07)

Bush's Iraq Gamble

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Philip H. Gordon, E!Sharp (March-April 2007)

Waning Chances for Stability in Iraq: Navigating Bad Options in Iraq

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

As the latest National Intelligence Estimate shows, Iraq is a failed state ensnared in a civil war. For the United States, the stakes in Iraq include humanitarian considerations (already, two million refugees have fled Iraq, and another 1.6 million have been displaced internally), regional risks to peace, and global consequences affecting oil supplies and nuclear proliferation.

British Troop Drawdown Rationale And Risks

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Times (2/24/07)

Debating the Troop Surge in Iraq

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Martin S. Indyk, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2/15/07)

Saudi Arabia's Own Iraq Nightmare

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Daniel L. Byman, Salon (2/8/07)

Weak States: America's Potent New Enemy

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Carlos Pascual, Bloggingheads.tv (2/2/07)

Bush's Iraq Plan Deserves a Chance

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Kenneth M. Pollack, Council on Foreign Relations (1/30/07)

While Some Welcome Additional Troops, Equipment and Retention Rates Could Suffer

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Peter W. Singer, Defense News (1/29/07)

Plan B: A Containment Strategy for Iraq in Civil War

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 10:30:00 GMT

Event Information:

January 29, 2007, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM

The Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings unveiled a new report, "Things Fall Apart: Containing the Spillover from an Iraqi Civil War," by Daniel L. Byman and Kenneth M. Pollack. This policy paper examines the history of some dozen recent civil wars to reveal the general patterns by which such conflicts can "spill over" into neighboring states, causing further civil wars or regional conflicts.

Regional Diplomacy Potential in Iraq

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Carlos Pascual and Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Times (1/21/07)

A Skeptic's Case for the Surge

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Post (1/14/07)

Last Chance in Iraq?

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Kenneth M. Pollack (1/11/07)

Q&A on the New Iraq Strategy

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Interview with Martin S. Indyk (1/11/07)

Resort to 'Soft-Partition' Repair in Iraq?

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon and Edward P. Joseph, The Washington Times (1/8/07)

Things Fall Apart: Containing the Spillover from an Iraqi Civil War

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Kenneth M. Pollack and Daniel L. Byman propose a set of policy options that the United States could employ to try to contain the "spill over" effects of a full-scale Iraqi civil war.

Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:00:00 GMT

Event Information:

December 21, 2006, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM

The State of Iraq: An Update

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Nina Kamp and Michael E. O'Hanlon, The New York Times (12/20/06)

Poverty and Civil War: What Policymakers Need to Know

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

From Sierra Leone to Tajikistan and Indonesia's Aceh Province, civil war has erupted in countries suffering from persistent poverty or sharp economic decline, further crippling fragile economies, depleting resources and claiming millions of innocent

Don't Count on Iran to Pick Up the Pieces in Iraq

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Kenneth M. Pollack, The New York Times (12/8/06)

The Iraq Study Group's False Hope

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Ivo H. Daalder, TPM Caf� (12/8/06)

Towards Conditional Commitment in Iraq

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Times (12/8/06)

Rights and Wrongs of Fixing Iraq

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Carlos Pascual and Kenneth M. Pollack, Financial Times (12/6/06)

Explosive Affinities: Cross-Border Consequences of Civil Strife in Iraq

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Kenneth M. Pollack and Daniel L. Byman, Berlin Journal (Fall 2006)

Civil War in Iraq?

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Internet Chat with Daniel L. Byman, Washingtonpost.com (8/21/06)

Iraq Runneth Over: What Next?

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Article by Kenneth M. Pollack and Daniel L. Byman, The Washington Post (8/20/06)

Success in Iraq Is Up to the Iraqis

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. Ohanlon and Stephen J. Solarz, The Washington Post (8/13/06)

What Zarqawi's Death Means for the Insurgency

Thu, 08 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Daniel L. Byman, Slate (6/8/06)

Iraq: How to Stop a Civil War

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Michael E. O'Hanlon, The Washington Post (3/27/06)

Administration officials have been right in recent weeks to argue that there is no large-scale civil war underway in Iraq. As long as the Iraqi political leadership remains generally united in trying to calm the situation, and as long as sectarian violence remains more sporadic than strategic (with no systematic ethnic cleansing, for example), true civil war remains a threat rather than a reality. But as President Bush himself recognized in his March 13 speech on Iraq, whoever attacked the Golden Mosque in Samarra on Feb. 22 was trying to spark a civil war. Yesterday's gruesome events, including the discovery of 30 beheaded bodies near Baqubah, heavy fighting in parts of Baghdad and the firing of fatal mortar rounds at Moqtada al-Sadr's compound in Najaf, suggest that such attempts will likely continue.

Challenge Bigger than Iraq

Sun, 26 Mar 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Shibley Telhami, Baltimore Sun (3/27/06)

As the prospects of civil war in Iraq increase, explanations have focused on the particularities of Iraq's society or the poor U.S. planning. That these are important factors one can hardly deny. But they mask a more troubling reality: Even with the best American planning and Iraqi intentions, preventing civil conflict in Iraq would have been an uphill battle.

African Renaissance: Towards a New Sudan

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Sudan is a nation whose identity has been divisively distorted but which is now striving to rediscover itself, albeit in a tragically violent way. The silver lining, Francis Deng argues, is that a more constructive search for an identity framework around which Sudanese could unite may be within reach.

Lebanon's Hidden Dangers

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Daniel Byman, foreignpolicy.com (3/1/05)

The Darfur Crisis in Context

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Deng argues that the rebellion in Darfur cannot be viewed in isolation from events elsewhere in Sudan.

Arming Kabul, Disarming Cabals

Wed, 22 Sep 2004 00:00:00 GMT

Postscript by Peter W. Singer and Anja Manuel, Foreign Affairs (9/22/04)

A New Model Afghan Army

Mon, 01 Jul 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Article by P.W. Singer, Olin Fellow, the Brookings Institution, and Anja Manuel, Attorney, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, in Foreign Affairs, July/August 2002

Risk of a Palestinian Civil War

Sun, 09 Dec 2001 00:00:00 GMT

Risk of a Palestinian Civil War, San Diego Union-Tribune, December 9, 2001, Opinion by Shibley Telhami, foreign-policy, The Brookings Institution