Idea of the Day: Help Iraqis Build the Infrastructure for Democratic Governance

The United States spent tens of billions of dollars arming and training Iraq’s security forces over the past six years but not enough has been done to build the civilian infrastructure needed to sustain and provide democratic oversight to those security forces. The United States should expand its efforts to train the Iraqi civil service and develop the capacity of these individuals to manage large bureaucracies in order to fight corruption and increase the capacity of Iraq to execute its budget.

Doing this will require the United States to advise and train Iraqis on all levels of governance—in national ministries, in regional governments, and in the newly elected local government bodies. The best way for the United States to provide this assistance is by working through and in coordination with other countries and international organizations such as the United Nations.

For more on this topic please see:

• After Redeployment from Iraqi Cities by Brian Katulis and Emily Hogin