Tareq Y Ismael is professor of political science at the University of Calgary, and editor of the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies. Among his many books are Middle East Politics Today: Government and Civil Society (University Press of Florida, 2001); (co-edited with William W Haddad) Iraq: The Human Cost of History (Pluto Press, 2003); and (with Jacqueline S Ismael), The Iraqi Predicament: People in the Quagmire of Power Politics (Pluto Press, 2004).

Recent articles

The impulse that drives United States policy in Iraq is reflected in the professional character of its leading military and diplomatic figures, says Tareq Y Ismael.

Saudi Arabia's new diplomatic activism is a challenge to American plans in the region, says Tareq Y Ismael.

The hanging of Iraq's ex-dictator was an instrument of the country's new sectarian logic rather than of justice, says Tareq Y Ismael.

The Baker report's recommendations for future United States policy in Iraq cannot work while United States violence and coercion dominates so much of Iraqis' lives, says Tareq Y Ismael.