Future of Iraq

(AP/WWP)

• A Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi People
  President Bush, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, Spain's President of Government Jose Maria Aznar, and Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, who hosted a one-day meeting of the leaders in the Azores March 16, issued a "Statement of the Atlantic Summit: A Vision for Iraq and the Iraqi People." Complete Text

• President Bush Presents Vision of Middle East Peace
  27 February — A peaceful and disarmed Iraq would benefit the Iraqi people and set the stage for progress towards peace throughout the Middle East, President Bush said in remarks February 26 at the American Enterprise Institute annual dinner in Washington. Complete Text

• Wolfowitz Says U.S. Would Seek to Liberate, Not Occupy, Iraq
  24 February — Reaching out to the Iraqi-American community in Dearborn, Michigan February 23, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz made the case for replacing the current Iraqi regime with one that embraces democratic norms. Complete Text

• U.S. Trying to Prepare for a Post-Saddam Iraq That Will Work
  22 February — Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith was interviewed February 21 by the Washington Post concerning arrangements the U.S. government is making for a possible post-war situation in Iraq. Complete Text

• U.S., U.N. Prepare to Meet Humanitarian Needs in Iraq
  14 February, Washington — Providing humanitarian assistance will be an "immediate objective," if the United States becomes engaged in a military conflict with Iraq, says Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman. Complete Text

• Contingency Plans Underway For Post-War Iraq, U.S. Official Says
  12 February, New York — Outlining a U.S. initiative called the "Future of Iraq Project," a senior U.S. official February 12 said that rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure and protecting Iraq's oil supplies will be an immediate priority in any post-Saddam Hussein reconstruction effort. Complete Text

• Iraqi-Born Educators and Scholars Consider Critical Educational Reforms
  3 February, Washington — Seventeen Iraqi-born scholars and educators met at the Department of State January 24-26 to discuss ways to make Iraq's education system more effective in preparing citizens to succeed in the democratic society they hope will follow the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime. Complete Text

• "Free Iraqis" To Discuss Education Effectiveness at State Department
  22 January — The State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs announced that it will host fifteen "Free Iraqis" January 24-26 to discuss primary, secondary and university education in Iraq, according to a January 22 press notice. Complete Text

• Iraqis Seek Primary Role in Prosecuting Crimes Against Humanity
  10 January, Washington — An Iraqi-American attorney participating in State Department-sponsored discussions on transitional justice in Iraq following the fall of Saddam Hussein says those who committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity should be prosecuted in Iraq before Iraqi judges. Complete Text

• Iraqi Professionals Discuss the Future of Local Government and Oil
  31 December, Washington — Two working groups, one dealing with local government, the other with the oil and gas industry, of the Future of Iraq Project met for the first time in Washington in late December under the auspices of the State Department. Complete Text

• Oil Experts Say War with Iraq Wouldn't Be War for Oil
  19 December, Washington — In November 2002, Saddam Hussein told the Egyptian weekly newspaper Al-Osboa that the United States planned to go to war for Iraq's oil. Complete Text

• Survey: Iraqis Will Back U.S.-Led War If It Means A Return To Normal Life
  19 December, Washington — People in Iraq, with surprising candor, told researchers that they will support a U.S.-led war against Iraq if it brings "normalcy" to their country, the International Crisis Group said in a December 4 report entitled "Voices from the Iraqi Street." Complete Text

• Iraqi Dissidents Discuss Local Governance for Iraq's Future
  18 December — The State Department announced the start of a working group session to discuss local government in Iraq December 18-19. Complete Text

• White House Applauds Results of Iraqi Opposition Conference
  17 December — The White House expressed U.S. support for the results of the Iraqi Opposition Conference that concluded in London December 17. Complete Text

• Iraq Group Sees Need for a Development and Reconstruction Council
  16 December — During the first week of December, Iraqi experts, free from the control of Saddam Hussein's regime, convened in Washington for a second round of discussions aimed at developing the future infrastructure and economy of Iraq. Complete Text

• Baghdad Regime's Policies Continue to Shred Iraq's Social Fabric
  9 December, Washington — Over one million Iraqis have been forced from their land and homes as a result of Saddam Hussein's state-sponsored political agendas, according to a recently released study by the Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement. Complete Text

• Iraqis Discuss Transition Plan For Representative Government
  15 November, Washington — Several Iraqi political scientists and business professionals presented a plan for shaping Iraq's transition to democratic government. Speaking at the United States Institute for Peace November 8, political scientist Laith Kubba outlined a multi-council transitional authority to address the political and practical needs of the nation following political change in Iraq. In parallel with political transformation, Iraqi businessman Rubar Sandi proposed steps aimed at stimulating both economic growth and development in Iraq. Complete Text

• Iraqi Opposition Leaders Discuss Democracy at Surrey Meeting
  10 September — Following is the official answer to a question taken at the September 9 regular State Department briefing; the answer was posted later in the day. Complete Text

• U.S. Scholar Shares His Views of Life in Northern Iraq
  20 August, Washington — From September 2000 until June 2001, Michael Rubin taught and traveled throughout northern Iraq. He says the rule of law and civic participation in government have taken hold this area of Iraq not controlled by Saddam Hussein to the degree that "people are buying land, not gold." Complete Text

• Iraqi-Born Economist Focuses on the Future of Iraq
  12 August, Washington — On August 6 and 7, a group of Iraqi-born economists met together at the Department of State in Washington to analyze Iraq's present economic situation and a future free of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. At the conclusions of their deliberations, the Washington File spoke with one of the participants, Dr. Salah Al-Sheikhly, an internationally recognized economist who worked for ten years in the senior levels of Iraq's state planning institutions. Complete Text

• Working Group on "Transitional Justice in Iraq" Meets in Washington
  12 July, Washington — Looking forward to a day when a post-Saddam Iraq rejoins the family of nations, the Department of State has hosted a working group on "Transitional Justice." On July 9 and 10, a group of Iraqi jurists joined Iraqi-Americans and international experts at the State Department to discuss how to promote the rule of law in Iraq, and how to initiate judicial reform. Complete Text

• Iraqi National Congress Leader Reaffirms Commitment to Democracy
  9 August, Washington — Sharif Ali Bin Al Hussein, spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress, told reporters August 8 that opposition groups in Iraq are prepared to play an active role in the transition to a democratic regime. Complete Text

• U.S. to Work with a "Broad Array" of Iraqi Opposition Groups
  8 August — Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith are co-hosting a meeting in Washington August 9 with representatives of six Iraqi opposition groups who were invited to Washington to discuss their role in a future Iraq, State Department Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker said. Complete Text

• Senate Holds Hearings on Reconstruction of Post-Saddam Iraq
  2 August — "It would be a tragedy if we removed a tyrant in Iraq, only to leave chaos in his wake. The long-suffering Iraqi people need to know a regime change would benefit them. So do Iraq's neighbors," said Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in his opening statement at the public hearings on Iraq. Complete Text

• Iraqi-American Conference Focuses on a Future Democratic Iraq
  10 June, Washington — Americans of Iraqi descent hosted a conference in Southfield, Michigan on June 1, on the topic of Iraq's future. At the "Iraqi American Conference for a Free and Democratic Iraq," Iraqi-Americans called on the U.S. government and policy makers, and the American people and institutions to support the Iraqi people in their quest for a free, just and democratic Iraq. Complete Text

• Panelists Discuss Kurdish Role in Post-Saddam Iraq
  17 June, Washington — Gathering representatives from a broad spectrum of Iraqi organizations and groups opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein, the American University's Center for Global Peace held a conference in Washington June 8 to discuss the role of Iraq's Kurdish population in anticipation of a post-Saddam era. Complete Text

A Kurdish man shops at Mazi supermarket in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk, November 22, 2000. (AP/WWP)

• Iraqi-Americans Discuss Future of Iraq
  18 June, Washington — Prominent members of the Iraqi-American community said they believe the potential exists for successful political and social reform in Iraq, provided the fragmented opposition is able to more effectively combine its efforts. A unified opposition organization, they said, would be capable of surmounting the barriers, which have so far prevented the Iraqi public from taking action against Saddam Hussein. Complete Text

• Iraqi Opposition Holds Seminar on Democratic Change in Iraq
  30 May, Washington — Opening a two-day seminar on "Prospects for Democratic Change in Iraq," Hussain Sinjari, the president of the Iraq Institute for Democracy, told participants that democracy and liberty would eventually be achieved in all of Iraq. Complete Text

University of Sulaymaniyah students 2001. (Michael Rubin)

• Encouraging Iraqi Civic Participation Can Spread Hope
  8 April, Washington — There exists an "untapped resource" of Iraqi civic participation which, if activated, can encourage a message of hope to counter the fear spread by the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, according to Laith Kubba, senior program officer for the Middle East at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Complete Text