Does the United States suffer from a learning disability in Iraq?
FP editor in chief Moisés Naím has a new piece at PostGlobal, the Washington Post‘s innovative 24/7 “conversation on global issues with David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria.” Naím fears that the United States is operating under the same faulty assumptions in getting out of Iraq that it operated under in going in to Iraq. And ...
FP editor in chief Moisés Naím has a new piece at PostGlobal, the Washington Post's innovative 24/7 "conversation on global issues with David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria."
FP editor in chief Moisés Naím has a new piece at PostGlobal, the Washington Post‘s innovative 24/7 “conversation on global issues with David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria.”
Naím fears that the United States is operating under the same faulty assumptions in getting out of Iraq that it operated under in going in to Iraq. And we all know how well that turned out, right? Naím cites three major faulty assumptions that, together, add up to a “learning disability” that the United States—including both the Bush administration and the Democrats in Congress—must overcome if it is ever to understand the problem of Iraq:
- Overestimating the capabilities of the Iraqi government
- Overestimating the capabilities of the U.S. government
- Disdaining diplomacy
Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
More from Foreign Policy

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy
The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now
In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet
As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.