The months ahead in the lead-up to Iraq's parliamentary elections, now scheduled for January 2010, promise to be a cautionary ebb and flow process marked simultaneously by the forming and disbanding of new alliances and old loyalties among Iraqi political parties and groups. Read more

In the post 9/11 world, democracy has gained new meaning. Former insurgents claim to be prepared to learn it. Barely elected governments promise to speak on behalf of it. Western democracies claim to be best suited to preach it. Read more

By all accounts, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement in Iraq has been fragmented since the onset of its political and military decline in early 2007. Read more

Despite projections in late 2008 that the oil-rich Arab states of the Persian Gulf had both the cash and incentive to cushion the blow from the slumping global economy , it has become clear over the past few months that regional economies have been more hard-hit than initially expected. Read more

No matter how damaging the legacy of former U.S. President George W. Bush has been in the Middle East and elsewhere, democracy promotion will preserve its place as a core tenet of American foreign policy. The how of the issue is less clear: how the U.S. will look to carry out this objective during the Obama administration and what the response of the Middle East is likely to be. Read more

With the approval by the three-member Iraqi presidency council of the security of forces agreement (SOFA) between the United States and Iraq on 4 December, 2008, the final step required for the official adoption of the pact was taken. Read more