Jessica Tuchman Mathews
{
"authors": [
"Jessica Tuchman Mathews"
],
"type": "testimony",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"Middle East",
"Iraq"
],
"topics": [
"Political Reform",
"Democracy",
"Military",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
The Situation in Iraq
The premise of the United States' current strategy in Iraq — that a political solution would follow if the violence could be reduced — is false. What is underway today in Iraq is a natural and inevitable struggle for power. The American presence delays what will eventually happen anyway.
Source: Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee

The current conversation in Washington badly distorts what is happening in Iraq and what our options are. As it has from the very beginning, U.S. strategy has more to do with political needs in Washington than it has to realities on the ground – to our continuing confusion and detriment. Five key considerations provide a more clear-eyed view and may offer a new approach for the way forward.
The premise of our current strategy — that a political solution would follow if the violence could be reduced — is false. What is underway today in Iraq is a natural and inevitable struggle for power. The American presence delays what will eventually happen anyway.
Click on PDF icon above to read full written testimony.
Click on the PDF icon to the right for the full Transcript.

To view this video, you will need Windows Media Player or RealPlayer.
Download Windows Media Player
Download RealPlayer
Click on one of the options below to watch video or listen to audio from the event:
About the Author
Distinguished Fellow
Mathews is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years.
- Washington Already Knows How to Deal with North KoreaIn The Media
- Trump Wins—and Now?Commentary
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Recent Work
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 Endowment for International Peace
- Iran’s Northern Neighbors Are Facing Fallout From the War, TooCommentary
The conflict is threatening stability in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Zaur Shiriyev
- The Board of Peace and Funding for Gaza Reconstruction: On Whose Account?Article
Stakeholders must demand major restructuring of the Board of Peace and robust oversight and transparency before engaging with it. Until then, rights-respecting existing platforms and mechanisms for multilateral peacemaking should be supported.
Zaha Hassan, Charles H. Johnson
- Israel’s Forever WarsCommentary
The country’s strategy is no longer focused on deterrence and diplomacy, it’s about dominance and degradation.
Nathan J. Brown
- The Iran War Is Also Now a Semiconductor ProblemCommentary
The conflict is exposing the deep energy vulnerabilities of Korea’s chip industry.
Darcie Draudt-Véjares, Tim Sahay
- Shockwaves Across the GulfCommentary
The countries in the region are managing the fallout from Iranian strikes in a paradoxical way.
Angie Omar


