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In this episode of Today's Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Haider al Abadi discuss the future of US–Iraq relations as the new Prime Minister al-Zaidi and his government endeavor to strengthen Iraqi sovereignty, fight corruption, improve security, recover from a regional war, and diversify its economy.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reflects on Iraq's partnership with the United States in the fight against al-Qaeda and ISIS, the challenges of balancing relations with regional powers, and the need to strengthen state institutions while preserving Iraqi independence. He discusses political reform, the integration of armed groups into the state, regional economic cooperation, and the importance of democratic governance as foundations for Iraq's long-term stability and prosperity.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Dr. Haider al-Abadi is the former Prime Minister of Iraq. Born in Baghdad in 1952, he earned a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Manchester and spent twenty-seven years in exile in the United Kingdom, during which Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime executed two of his brothers. He led the Dawa Party’s opposition from abroad and returned to Iraq in 2003, serving as minister of communications and first deputy speaker of parliament. As prime minister from 2014 to 2018, he served as commander-in-chief during the campaign that defeated ISIS, also known as Daesh, and restored Iraqi sovereignty over the territory the group had seized.
H.R. McMaster is the host of Today's Battlegrounds. He is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He was the 25th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Each episode features H.R. McMaster, in a one-on-one conversation with a senior foreign government leader to allow Americans and partners abroad to understand how the past produced the present and how we might work together to secure a peaceful and prosperous future. “Listening and learning from those who have deep knowledge of our most crucial challenges is the first step in crafting the policies we need to secure peace and prosperity for future generations.”
