Iraq

If you've been paying attention this past decade, it won't surprise you to learn that the country's policy elites are in the midst of a destructive, well-nigh unhinged discussion about the future of the nation. But even by the degraded standards of the Washington establishment, the growing panic over government debt is shocking.

At least The New York Times remembers that we’re at war. On Saturday, it published a remarkable piece by a remarkable reporter, Dexter Filkins, suggesting that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has lost virtually all interest in the anti-Taliban struggle that we are waging on his behalf. On Sunday, another extraordinary war correspondent, Anthony Shadid, reported on an attack by men in army uniform on Iraq’s central bank.

This weekend’s Iraqi elections were inspiring—a testament to the fortitude of the Iraqi people, the weakness of al Qaeda, the adaptability of the American military, and yes, the troop surge pushed through by George W. Bush.

On February 26, Slate’s Chris Wilson, Colonel Jim Hikey, Scott Helfstein, and “Matthew Alexander” (a pseundonym) explored the surprisingly hi-tech hunt for Iraq's dictator in 2003, and ways such tools continue to change U.S. war-fighting. The panelists were introduced by New America President Steve Coll. The event was moderated by Peter Bergen, Co-Director of the Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative.

The New America Foundation and Slate magazine today announced a new partnership, focusing on emerging technologies and their transformative effects on society and public policy.

Central to the partnership is the "Future Tense" event series, which brings together issue experts and provocative thinkers from all disciplines to look beyond today's headlines.  Both Slate and New America will be complementing these discussions with original web content, and exploring new ways to continue the conversations online.

On February 15, 2010, the New America Foundation invited Jean-Pierre Filiu to lecture on the current strength of Al-Qaeda. He began his talk by explaining that for 21 years, Al-Qaeda has survived because it has continually readapted and regenerated itself. Its continual rejuvenation has led Filiu to dub its existence as “the nine lives of Al-Qaeda.” Jean-Pierre Filiu believes, however, that this cycle of regeneration is about to come to an end.

After weeks of relative calm, the Islamic State of Iraq, a collection of terrorist groups that includes the notorious al Qaeda of Mesopotamia, launched a coordinated suicide attack in the heart of Baghdad that left at least 155 dead and hundreds more wounded. The last major attack occurred in August, when 102 civilians died in a series of bombings that targeted key government ministries.

On the first night of Operation Desert Storm, American military forces launched a ferocious air attack that overwhelmed Iraq's defenses. It was the start of one of the most brilliant and decisive military campaigns in modern history, one that promised to cement a long era of American leadership.

I’m in the driver’s seat of a 2.5-ton armoured truck somewhere west of Baghdad in December 2007, navigating a main supply route used by the American military. Next to me is a Lebanese private security contractor named Abu Layla, who is monitoring the roadside for potential bombs. Suddenly, we get ambushed – a “contact,” as contractors call a violent encounter with Iraqi insurgents, sectarian fighters or al Qa’eda. I hit the panic button on the dashboard, and our signal alerts the nearest US military unit.

One day in Iraq, a friend picked me up from the house in Baghdad's Mansur district and took me to the Shaab district of east Baghdad. We drove past checkpoints manned by "Awakening" militias created by the Americans to counteract the Shiite-led Mahdi Army militia. My friend, a Shiite himself from Shaab, put a tape in the cassette player. "Now we are the Mahdi Army," my friend laughed, as the singing started. The songs praised populist anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the Iraqi militia loyal to him, which frequently blew up or kidnapped Americans and other foreigners.