Understanding Iraq: The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation

Iraq will continue to be a major issue and involvement for the United States into the foreseeable future, says William R. Polk, former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago.

Iraq sits on the world's largest supply of oil, and with the world's energy requirements continuously rising, Iraq will play an ongoing role in the global economy and the political environment throughout the Gulf region and the Middle...