Special Report: Iraq and the Gulf States. The Balance of Fear

摘要

Iraq's neighbors are playing a major role both positive and negative in the country's worsening crisis. As part of the Institute's Iraq and Its Neighbors project, a group of leading specialists on the geopolitics of the region is assessing the interests and influence of the countries surrounding Iraq and the impact on U.S. bilateral relations. The Institute is also sponsoring high-level, nonofficial dialogue between Iraqi national security and foreign policy officials and their counterparts from the neighboring countries. The Marmara Declaration, released after the Institute's most recent dialogue in Istanbul, sets forth a framework for a regional peace process. Jon Alterman's report on the Gulf States is the fifth in a series of special reports sponsored by the Iraq and Its Neighbors project; Steve Simon's study on Syria will be published in the coming months. Scott Lasensky, senior research associate at the Institute's Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention and adjunct professor of government at Georgetown University, directs the Iraq and Its Neighbors project and authored the report on Jordan. Peter Pavilionis is the series editor. For more information about the Iraq and Its Neighbors project, go to www.usip.org/iraq/ neighbors/index.html.