Episode #45
America's Final Withdrawal From Iraq. How'd We Get There and What Happens Next? ft. Dr. Roger Petersen, MIT
On this episode of the Long History Short Podcast, I interviewed Dr. Roger Petersen about Iraq, now that U.S. forces are poised to leave for the final time on September 30, 2026. He and I discuss the state of Iraq today, with its fractious but democratic politics. We also discuss the origins of the Iraq War, the post-Saddam insurgency, the impact of the US troop surge under General Petraeus, and sectarian violence between Shia and Sunnis, as well as other outside groups. Finally, we discuss bright spots in the current political situation in Iraq and why we ought to have hope for the future of the Iraqi people. Here's the link to Dr. Petersen's book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSPPSJ1L?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback Here's an overview of the Sunni-Shia divide: https://www.cfr.org/articles/sunni-shia-divide-2 Dr. Petersen mentioned a New York Times article about Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi. It's paywalled, but here it is: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/world/middleeast/iraq-prime-minister-interview-disarm-militias.html Dr. Petersen also referred to an article about the troop surge written by Stephen Biddle. Check it our if you're interested, or if you're not totally persuaded by Dr. Petersen's argument: https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/testing-surge-why-did-violence-decline-iraq-2007 This is a brief biography of Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia cleric/asshole who comes up often in our conversation: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Muqtada-al-Sadr
