Praise forIraq after America
Joel Rayburn was a longtime adviser to General David Petraeus in Iraq, and it shows. His account of the political players of Iraq and the social forces that drive themwhich have largely been ignored or misunderstood by most Western writers and analystsis superlative. Rayburn is also a historian and he brings to Iraq after America the judicious judgments of that profession as well as the clarity and rigor of analysis of the professional intelligence analyst that he also is. The result is a book which will long be consulted by experts on Iraq and interested general readers alike.
Peter L. Bergen is the author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad
Iraq after America provides the best description and the most incisive analysis I have seen of the political situation that has emerged in Iraq since 2003. Indeed, as both a historian and a practitioner, Joel Rayburn is admirably equipped for this task. With this book, he earns a position among the most perceptive observers of modern-day Iraq.
General David H. Petraeus, US Army (retired), Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq during the surge
When most Americans of whatever persuasion talk about Iraq, they put the US role front and center. Joel Rayburn, one of the best and most incisive analysts of that troubled land, corrects the imbalance by putting the Iraqis at the center of their own story. His deeply researched analysis and history of Iraqi politics should be required reading for anyone trying to understand where Iraq has been or where it is going.
Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, and author of Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present Day and The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power
Joel Rayburn has written a masterful, insightful, and readable history of Iraqi politics that transcends the epoch of Americas troop presence. This book identifies geopolitical trends within the Middle East that are likely to emerge as Iraq relapses into civil war alongside neighboring Syria.
Kimberly Kagan, President, Institute for the Study of War, and author of The Surge: A Military History
With Iraq after America, Joel Rayburn has given us an absolute gem. It is hard to imagine a slim, lively volume so packed with insight and wisdom. Nothing is overlooked, but nothing is belabored. Rayburn deftly interweaves his deep academic knowledge of Iraqs history and society with his practical experience of Iraqi politics and security earned by his years there after the 2003 invasion. In its concision and erudition, Iraq after America offers an unparalleled understanding of the misery of Iraq today.
Kenneth M. Pollack, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, and author of Unthinkable: Iran, the Bomb, and American Strategy
IRAQ AFTER AMERICA
Strongmen, Sectarians, Resistance
HERBERT AND JANE DWIGHT WORKING GROUP ON ISLAMISM AND THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER
Many of the writings associated with this Working Group will be published by the Hoover Institution. Materials published to date, or in production, are listed below.
ESSAY SERIES:
THE GREAT UNRAVELING: THE REMAKING OF THE MIDDLE EAST
In Retreat: Americas Withdrawal from the Middle East Russell A. Berman
Israel and the Arab Turmoil
Itamar Rabinovich
Reflections on the Revolution in Egypt
Samuel Tadros
The Struggle for Mastery in the Fertile Crescent
Fouad Ajami
The Weavers Lost Art
Charles Hill
The Consequences of Syria
Lee Smith
ESSAYS
Saudi Arabia and the New Strategic Landscape
Joshua Teitelbaum
Islamism and the Future of the Christians of the Middle East
Habib C. Malik
Syria through Jihadist Eyes: A Perfect Enemy
Nibras Kazimi
The Ideological Struggle for Pakistan
Ziad Haider
Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah: The Unholy Alliance and Its War on Lebanon
Marius Deeb
[For a list of books published under the auspices of the WORKING GROUP ON ISLAMISM AND THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER, please see page 289.]
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Hoover Institution Press Publication No. 643
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Copyright 2014 by the Board of Trustees of the
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rayburn, Joel, 1969 author.
Iraq after America : strongmen, sectarians, resistance / Joel Rayburn.
pages cm (Hoover Institution Press publication ; no. 643) Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-8179-1694-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8179-1696-1 (epub)
ISBN 978-0-8179-1697-8 (mobipocket)
ISBN 978-0-8179-1698-5 (ePDF)
1. IraqPolitics and government2003 . 2. AuthoritarianismIraq. 3. IraqEthnic relations. I. Title. II. Series : Hoover Institution Press publication ; 643.
DS79.769.R39 2014
956.70443dc23
2014018175
The Hoover Institution gratefully acknowledges the following individuals and foundations for their significant support of the
HERBERT AND JANE DWIGHT WORKING GROUP ON ISLAMISM AND THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER:
Herbert and Jane Dwight
Mr. and Mrs. Norman R. Beall
