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The Question:
In a diverse and complex world, how can we come to better understand and work with each other? On an organizational level, how can diverse organizations - such as civilian organizations and the military - learn to work together? On an interpersonal level, how can people come to understand each other's cultures? We hope this site will be of help in seeking answers to these questions.

This front page compiles military and non-military sources that provide information on Iraqi culture and efforts made to understand it in the wake of the war in Iraq. It includes websites created by various organizations within the military to increase the military's awareness and understanding of the Iraqi culture, as well as academic articles put out by military organizations which analyze the issue of Iraqi-American cultural understanding. It also includes news articles and academic resources from non-military sources on the relevant subjects.

Focus: Iraq

Wikipedia Encyclopedia: Iraq

Military resources on Iraqi Culture
Jordanians Lead Arab Cultural Awareness Seminar
Cultural Awareness and Terrorism, a Course Offered by the USMC College of Continuing Education
Culture of the Arab World
Cultural Understanding and the Muslim/Arab World, from the United States Navy Chaplain Corps
Cultural Awareness and Cross-Cultural Communication, from the Air War College
"The Military Utility of Understanding Adversary Culture," published in the Joint Force Quarterly
III Corps G-5 Civil Affairs website, including an "Iraq Smart Book"
Interview with Captain in Iraq, from the USMC Center for Advanced and Operational Culture Learning
Suggested Readings on Iraqi Culture, from the USMC Center for Advanced and Operational Culture Learning

Academic Analyses from Military/DoD
"You're not from around here, are you?" from the Joint Forces Quarterly
Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz Town Hall Meeting with Iraq-American Community
Anthropology and Counterinsurgency: The Strange Story of their Curious Relationship
Preparing Leaders for Nationbuilding
Strategic Scouts for Strategic Corporals
Strategic Implications of Intercommunal Warfare in Iraq

Other Academic Papers/Resources
Iraq: United Nations and Humanitarian Aid Organizations
The Cultural Heritage of Iraq, homepage
Letter to George W. Bush on Cultural Preservation of Iraq
IslamiCity, information on Islam
Shi'a Islam
Arab Studies Quarterly: Iraq and human development: culture, education and the globalization of hope
Informed Comment on current events in Iraq by University of Michigan History Professor and Middle East/Islamic studies expert Juan Cole, often including insights on Iraqi culture

News Articles, Old and New
Cultural Sensitivity Makes a Difference
Special Forces learn adaptive thinking and cultural awareness
Soldiers Improve Battle Skills at Library
Telegraph Article: We can't win with military force alone, general admits
Free Iraqi forces: "Members of the team" liberating Iraq
Marines change camps' names to respect Iraqi culture
Making Cultural Understanding Happen

Useful Sites From...

U.S. Military
"You're not from around here, are you?" from the Joint Forces Quarterly
Jordanians Lead Arab Cultural Awareness Seminar
Marines Explore Cultural Awareness
Cultural Awareness and Terrorism, a Course Offered by the USMC College of Continuing Education
Cross Cultural Communication Role-playing, from Fort Leonard Wood
"Communication," a Powerpoint presentation from United States Army Medical Department
Communicatios Process, from Fort Knox, Kentucky
Information on Being a Civil Affairs Officer
Factors in Military Decision-Making: Communication and Cross-Cultural Analysis, from the Air University Review
Leadership Cultural Competency, from the Air Force
A Study of Cross-Cultural Commuication for US Military
Military Cultural Education, Air War College
Cultural Understanding and the Muslim/Arab World, from the United States Navy Chaplain Corps
Cultural Awareness and Cross-Cultural Communication
The Foreign Area Officer Proponent
U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command
Civil Affairs Association Homepage
Course on Intercultural Communication at the Air Force Special Operations School
Intercultural Communications, from International Training Management Website
Bibliography on Intercultural Communications, from International Training Management Website
Naval Postgraduate School Thesis Paper--Rumors in Iraq: A Guide to Winning Hearts and Minds
Bombs, Then Bandages: Preparing the War Fighter for the Sojourn to Peacekeeping, published in the Aerospace Power Journal
The Culture of Future Conflict
National Security Education Program, from the National Defense University
Course, "Around the World in 80 Cultures," from the USMC College of Continuing Education
Course, Cross Cultural Communications, from the United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command
United States Marine Corps, Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning
Intercultural/Cross-Cultural Communication, a presentation from the Illinois National Guard

Humanitarian Organizations
Public Conversations Project
ReliefWeb, "Serving the Information Needs of the Humanitarian Relief Community
Peace Corps Information on Cultural Understanding

Informative Sites
2004 Report of the United States Advisory Commissionon Public Diplomacy
USAID Press Briefing on White House Interagency Humanitarian Reconstruction Issues
Interagency Operations Centers: An Opportunity We Can't Ignore
Aid During Conflict: Interaction Between Military and Civilian Assistance Providers in Afghanistan, September 200 - June 2002

Recent Books: Intercultural Communication
U.S. Military/NGO Inteface: A Vital Link to Successful Humanitarian Intervention by Floresita C. Quarto
Transcending the cultural gaps in 21st century strategic analysis and planning : the real revolution in military affairs by Edwin H. Lowe
Cultures in conversation by Donal Carbaugh
Intercultural discourse and communication : the essential readings edited by Scott F. Kiesling and Christina Bratt Paulston
International and multicultural organizational communication Cheorge Cheney, editor, George A. Barnett, editor.
Theorizing about intercultural communication editor William B. Gudykunst
Transculturality : epistemology, ethics, and politics by Hans Jörg Sandkühler, Hong-Bin Lim (eds.). , 2005
Friction : an ethnography of global connection by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing. , 2005
Discourse across languages and cultures edited by Carol Lynn Moder, Aida Martinovic-Zic. , 2004
Handbook of intercultural training editors Dan Landis, Janet M. Bennett, Milton J. Bennett. , 2004
Intercultural communication : an advanced resource book by Adrian Richard Holliday, Martin Hyde and John Kullman
Guide to cross-cultural communication by Sana Reynolds, Deborah Valentine. , 2004
Transculturalism : how the world is coming together : essays, analyses, personal tales, and optimistic views of the future edited by Claude Grunitzky with Trace magazine contributors
Working across cultures by John Hooker. , 2003
Spaces of intercultural communication : an interdisciplinary introduction to communication, culture, and globalizing/localizing identities by Rico Lie.
Case studies in culture and communication : a group perspective by James A. Schnell. , 2003
Cross-cultural pragmatics : the semantics of human interaction by Anna Wierzbicka. , 2003
Dialogue among civilizations : some exemplary voices by Fred Dallmayr. , 2003
Non-western perspectives on human communication : implications for theory and practice by Min-Sun Kim.,

Useful Websites
UNAMI: UN Assistance Mission for Iraq--Web Portal for UN Agencies and NGOs Working in Iraq
HIC: Humanitarian Information Centre for Iraq
Export.gov/Iraq, maintained by the Iraq Investment and Reconstruction Task Force of the US Department of Commerce
Iraq Project and Contracting Office