Background

Iraq's history reflects several internal and external conflicts throughout the twentieth century. The country's population is very diverse, where 60% are Shias, 20% are Sunnis, 17% are Kurds and 3% are of other religious and ethnic backgrounds. This diversity presents a challenge to the development of long-term peace and stability in post-war Iraq.

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Recent Events

In November 2004, the United States initiated a major offensive against insurgent-controlled areas. U.S. troops together with newly-trained Iraqi security forces recaptured Falluja, which had effectively been under insurgent control since the summer. According to U.S. commanders, however, the Iraqis would not have been able to do this on their own. Several months later, Iraqi security forces continue to be inadequate, with only about 30% trained.

The violence that led up to the elections calmed briefly following Election Day. But, overall, violence in Iraq has intensified. Mounting U.S. deaths have increased public pressure for the Bush Administration to create a clearer exit strategy from Iraq. But, without a properly trained Iraqi security force, a quick pull-out from the fragile state could be detrimental.

There is no official estimate of the number of civilian deaths that have occurred in Iraq since the beginning of the war due to such high levels of uncertainty surrounding the issue. However, very rough estimates infer that between 10,000 and 44,700 innocent civilians have perished due to war-related activity since March 2003. More than 1,400 U.S. troops have also died in battle since March 2003.

Elections

January 30, 2005 marked an historic day for the people of Iraq. Citizens were given the chance to vote in the country’s first free elections in more than 50 years. Nearly 19,000 candidates from 223 different political entities competed for both national and regional seats in what will serve as a 275-member Transitional National Assembly. The two primary tasks of the National Assembly will be to appoint a Presidency Council, consisting of a President and two Vice-Presidents, and draft a new Iraqi constitution.

The United Nations played a major role throughout the election process. According to the UN Foundation, UN experts trained approximately 8,000 Iraqis to serve as electoral workers and helped to train an additional 148,000 poll workers for the 5,300 polling centers set up throughout the country. U.S. military presence increased from 138,000 to 150,000 in an effort to heighten security measures during the elections. It is estimated that about 8.5 million Iraqis voted.

Although Sunni voter turnout was low, it was not as low as was expected. Sunnis in the most volatile areas of the country were allowed to register and vote at the same time. Many Sunni Muslims were concerned that election results would not properly represent the Sunni population in the National Assembly and thus, boycotted the elections.

Election results yielded a 48% win by Iraq’s majority Shiite party, the United Iraqi Alliance. 26% of the votes went to Kurdish parties while 14% were won by Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s alliance. Members of the United Iraqi Alliance have said they want all Iraqis to be represented in the government and will do their best to draw Sunnis into the political process.

The United Nations

UN involvement with Iraq was curtailed after the attack on the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003. The attack led the UN to withdraw nearly all of its international staff from Iraq. However, as was seen throughout the election process, the UN has maintained a presence in Iraq. It helped lay the groundwork for the transitional government through the work of the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, Lakhdar Brahimi, who was also involved in advising the Iraqi government regarding elections.

Over the last few months, the number of international staff working in Iraq has slowly increased again. There are now 58 UN civilian staff in Baghdad, and the UN has announced plans to open offices in Basrah and Erbil. According to the UN Foundation, any future role for the UN in Iraq could promise continued political facilitation with the transition, assistance drafting a constitution and help creating a public information campaign.    

Updated February 24, 2005

United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI)

Other Documents:

Action Alert: The prisoner Abuse in Iraq is Sickening. The U.S. must be above torture. Act Now: Tell you leaders the U.S. must be above torture
Citizens for Global Solutions

"Iraq: A strategy for Progress", Center for American Progress

"Post-Conflict Lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan", Anthony H. Cordesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies. Testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, May 19, 2004

"Bush Plan for Iraq: A Risk Assessment", Center for Strategic and International Studies, May 25, 2004