Iraq

USIP has been working with Iraqis since early 2004. USIP's objectives in Iraq include:

• Support mediation and dialogue at the local, provincial, and national levels
• Strengthen cross-sectarian links
• Strenghten civil society and the education sector
• Promote tolerance and respect for human rights
• Help create compacts based on equitable sharing of power and resources

USIP has a field office in Baghdad. The Iraq program is a part of USIP's Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, directed by Daniel Serwer.

Highlights

Evaluating Iraq’s Provincial Reconstruction Teams While Drawdown Looms: A USIP Trip Report
December 8, 2008 | USIPeace Briefing | Rusty Barber and Sam Parker
Since their 2005 inception in Iraq, PRTs have struggled to fully define their mission, overcome structural problems, learn to work alongside their military counterparts and assist Iraqis down the path to self-governance and stability so that U.S. forces can withdraw. While the concept was born in the Afghan conflict, PRTs in Iraq bear little resemblance to their Afghan cousins, which are led and largely staffed by military officers.

Iraq: Positive Change in the Detention System
July 23, 2008 | USIPeace Briefing | Elizabeth Detwiler
This USIPeace Briefing, summarizing remarks from a former commander for detainee operations in Iraq, discusses recent successes in improving the conditions of insurgent detainees in the country.

Robert Boorda Takes Lead of USIP Baghdad Operations Rusty Barber Returns to Washington to Oversee Iraq Programs
July 9, 2008 | News Release
Robert Boorda, a former Navy lawyer, has replaced Rusty Barber as Chief of Party, Iraq in the U.S. Institute of Peace's (USIP) Baghdad office. Barber, a former Foreign Service Officer who served in the post for the last 15 months, has returned to Washington, DC to oversee all of USIP’s Iraq programs.