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• U.S. Department of State

Summary

Iraq's current government is the result of a U.S.-supported election process designed to produce democracy, although many believe it has produced a sectarian government incapable of reconciliation. The Administration says that, partly as a result of the U.S. "troop surge,"the passage of some key laws represents progress on national political reconciliation. Others say that the intense combat among Shiite groups in March 2008 ­ possibly motivated by new provincial elections planned for October 2008 ­ shows that U.S. force and strategy alone will not yield a stable Iraq. See CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by Kenneth Katzman.

Related Reports:
• RS21968

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