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Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was Saddam Hussein.

Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the Saddam Hussein regime.

Coalition forces remain in Iraq under a UNSC mandate, helping to provide security and to support the freely elected government. The Coalition Provisional Authority, which temporarily administered Iraq after the invasion, transferred full governmental authority on 28 June 2004 to the Iraqi Interim Government, which governed under the Transitional Administrative Law for Iraq (TAL). Under the TAL, elections for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA) were held in Iraq on 30 January 2005. Following these elections, the Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) assumed office. The TNA was charged with drafting Iraq's permanent constitution, which was approved in a 15 October 2005 constitutional referendum. An election under the constitution for a 275-member Council of Representatives (OOR) was held on 15 December 2005. The COR approval in the selection of most of the cabinet ministers on 20 May 2006 marked the transition from the ITG to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half-century.

The success of the recent "surge" is increasingly under pressure as the Iraqi government moves to take over patrolling it’s own cities now that America has pulled out on June 30th, stopping major military action on its part and entirely cutting itself off from patrolling these urban centers.

As America begins winding down its troop levels and efforts in Iraq, fear continues to mount on several fronts. Relation with the Kurds in Northern Iraq are deteriorating over oil rights. Elections, which were scheduled for January have been pushed back with no date established at this time.  Infrasrtucture continues to either work poorly or not work at all. Many projects established and built with American miney - hospitals, electircity plants are being abandoned for lack of material or exeprienced staff while the level of insurgent attacks is expected to rise as Americans leave