• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUUkraine
  • Donate
REQUIRED IMAGE
Report

Iraq: A New Approach

The report provides a middle ground between the two existing approaches to Iraq: continue to do nothing, or pursue an overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

Link Copied
By Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Published on Sep 5, 2002

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)

Source: Carnegie

IRAQ: A NEW APPROACH

Jessica T. Mathews

Full Text in English (PDF)

Click here for more resources on Iraq and to read the Carnegie Endowment's latest report, Iraq: what next?


Read Chinese translation of "A New Approach: Coercive Inspections," by Jessica T. Mathews

Read Russian translation of "A New Approach: Coercive Inspections," by Jessica T. Mathews, and Chapter One, "A Military Framework for Coercive Inspections," by Charles G. Boyd

Carnegie Event
Report contributors present their proposal for "coercive inspections."
Click here to see the video of the event.

Summary
This proposal identifies a middle ground between the two existing approaches to Iraq: continue to do nothing, or pursue an overthrow of Saddam Hussein. In the lead chapter of the report, Carnegie president Jessica T. Mathews proposes "coercive inspections" in which a multinational military force created by the UN Security Council would enable international inspections teams to operate effectively in Iraq. The U.S. would forswear unilateral military action against Iraq as long as inspections worked unhindered. This "comply or else" tactic would place the burden of choosing war squarely on Saddam Hussein.

The report stems from a series of bipartisan meetings held at the Carnegie Endowment beginning in April. The discussions included international experts on the Middle East and former military officers and inspectors intimately familiar with Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological, and missile programs, including: Charles G. Boyd, General, U.S. Air Force (Retired); Rolf Ekeus, former Swedish Ambassador and former UNSCOM Executive Chairman; Robert L. Gallucci, former U.S. Ambassador and former Deputy Executive Chairman of UNSCOM; Terence Taylor, former UNSCOM Commissioner, former Chief Inspector in Iraq, and former career officer in the British Army; and Patrick Clawson, Deputy Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The report includes a detailed analysis of UNSCOM and IAEA inspections, the new political situation that makes UN support for a new inspections regime possible, the likely responses from Russia and Middle East states, and relevant UN resolutions and international laws.
This paper identifies an alternative policy that, as Mathews writes, "blends the imperative for military threat against a regime that has learned how to divide and conquer the major powers with the legitimacy of UN sanction and multilateral action.

About the Author

Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Distinguished Fellow

Mathews is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years.

    Recent Work

  • In The Media
    Washington Already Knows How to Deal with North Korea

      Jessica Tuchman Mathews

  • Commentary
    Trump Wins—and Now?

      Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Distinguished Fellow
Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)
United StatesIraqUnited KingdomSecurityForeign PolicyNuclear Policy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Trump Blindsides Ukraine But Gives Europe an Opportunity

    Ahead of a tough winter for Ukraine, Donald Trump’s swing back toward Russia bodes ill. But instead of panicking, Kyiv’s European allies are focusing on action.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

  • Commentary
    Turning Russian Assets into Financing for Ukraine Now

    Funding Ukraine remains a priority for European leaders. As Russia’s war of aggression heads into another winter, two feasible options to mobilize support for Kyiv should be fast-tracked.

      Vladyslav Rashkovan, Gregory P. Wilson

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The EU’s Middle-Power Puzzle

    While the EU and European governments are embracing the much-lauded middle-power moment, this entails three difficult conundrums.

      Richard Youngs

  • The Scramble for Europe. Russia, China, and Turkey Challenging Regional Order
    Book
    The Scramble for Europe. Russia, China, and Turkey Challenging Regional Order

    Europe is facing rising populism internally as well as external pressures from Russia, China, Turkey, and the United States.

      Dimitar Bechev

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    How the EU’s Single Market Could Unlock Enlargement

    Much has been said of the changes Brussels is trying to make to the EU enlargement process. Here’s why gradual integration might—or might not—be the answer.

      Dimitar Bechev

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.