The Obama Administration is facing a security environment in Iraq vastly improved over that which prevailed during 2005-2007, although still not completely peaceful or without potential to deteriorate significantly. Some U.S. officials believe that further U.S. military presence might be needed beyond the projected 2011 withdrawal date, and that political disputes among Iraqi factions could escalate and reignite civil conflict in the absence of a U.S. presence. This report discusses these issues in detail, as well as the factors that have contributed to the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops, including mounting casualties and financial costs.

This report discusses the current political and social climate of Iraq, specifically in regards to the influence of the U.S. military presence over recent years. This report addresses planned and possible future efforts under the Obama Administration, including the scheduled gradual troops withdrawal. Some U.S. officials believe that a U.S. military presence is needed beyond the scheduled August 31, 2010 date, by which point all U.S. troops will have been withdrawn. This report also discusses the continued tensions between various Iraqi sociocultural groups.

This report provides a brief overview of the major issues facing the Iraqi Kurds. The Iraqi Kurds' political autonomy, demands, and ambitions are causing friction with Christian and other minorities in the north, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Arab leaders of Iraq, neighboring Turkey, and Iran. The U.S. ability to keep these tensions contained could wane as U.S. forces, as planned, draw down from Iraq over the next three years.

This report provides an overview of Iraq's political transition from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein to a plural polity that encompasses varying sects and ideological and political factions. This report also addresses ongoing governmental instabilities and their causes, as well as U.S. concerns about possible Iranian influence in Iraq as U.S. forces depart the country.